Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[hack]

Not at all; GF will always have to earn its customers, in lieu of being "landed" from on-high as TW was, and having its title protected.

There is already a second Fiber-Op company in town.

Once they've got 80% of the market though, then they've got you. Is there a reason not to worry about that?

[iam416]

I think a full analysis factors in a whole lot of things. Planes are much different beasts now then back then. Especially fuel efficiency. They can practically be flown by blowup autopilots like in Airplane these days, and the actual pilots get paid marginally more. And of course there are fuel-efficiency gains also to be had by not having any food on board anymore...

Hey, I think it would be an interesting analysis. That said, I don't think it's needed for the discussion at hand. The simple assertion was that airline prices are much higher after de-regulation. If the article in the The Atlantic is accurate then the opposite is true.

There may be lots of different explanations to go along with competition and one would be short-sighted to merely chalk it up to cutting the market loose.

Another reason airlines would be fascinating to study is that I think you've sort of seen a near market cycle in the span of 40 years...with cutthroat competition driving prices down (amongst other reasons), companies being driven out of business, firms consolidating to try get by on economies of scale and, eventually, something closer to a oligarchy instead of the wild west. Now you'd expect to see prices increase somewhat and that may be happening -- The Atlantic only goes through 2011.

I'm sure someone has done a case study on this market. It could be a really interesting read.

[iam416]

DSL:

PPP's poll with Clinton beating Trump 47-41 is also a bit concerning. That's as close as he's been in, like, ever? nationally...and it's a D-based polling outfit.

PPP also had it really close in Ohio a week ago.

Any R has a tough road to hoe in the Electoral College, and Trump probably has it especially hard. But I'm a little surprised he's within striking distance.

[hack]

Unclear also to what extent there has been deregulation. Aren't there still service obligations for non-profitable markets? Of course there's still regulation in some areas beyond the standard public-safety stuff.

[hack]

it does not follow that regulation causes or results from wealth, which you seem to imply.

Well you can probably anticipate what I would say at this point, which is that incentives to invest and innovate are at their greatest on a level playing field. But I think ultimately there aren't example of wealth without regulation because things are generally regulated, whether by bureaucrats or soldiers or other people who can leverage the threat of violence into getting what they want. If you don't have a government you have warlords.

[Wild Hoss]

Once they've got 80% of the market though, then they've got you. Is there a reason not to worry about that?

There is. Deregulated competition.

[hack]

On paper or reality? Google's got pockets as deep as anyone. Who else is going to chase market share as an upstart?

[Dr. Strangelove]

West Virginia to Sanders. But Hillary will once again prob win more delegates because almost all the super delegates have already pledged allegiance to her no matter how well Sanders does.

[Wild Hoss]

On paper or reality? Google's got pockets as deep as anyone. Who else is going to chase market share as an upstart?

Both.

As I said earlier, there is already another Fiber Op company advertising in town, several coax companies, and of course TW is still bobbling around in case Google gets power-mad.

Even without any of those companies, Google won't get a government-mandated fence around the city for 4 decades. With the lines made public, the infrastructure costs don't require google pockets.

[hack]

Let's hope so. I have my doubts about Google, but I see your point.

[Mike]

I'd like to enjoy some $15 broadband in the meantime...

[Wild Hoss]

Google was providing 10/1 for free for 7 seven years, but I think they stopped offering that.

TW will give you 15/5 for $15.00...with their 50 cable service. You won't be able to watch Netflix on weekend nights, but its cheap.

[Wild Hoss]

Let's hope so. I have my doubts about Google, but I see your point.

Absolute power corrupts, but I have zero complaints thus far. You know they are spying on you when you sign up...but so is everybody else, so NBD. Their customer service has been amazing, and their product is currently unmatched. At some point their rates are going to go up, but that's expected too.

[Da Geezer]

hack said:

But I think ultimately there aren't example of wealth without regulation because things are generally regulated, whether by bureaucrats or soldiers or other people who can leverage the threat of violence into getting what they want.

Correct. The threat of violence in most advanced economies is welded by the government.

Just today, the government nixed the Staples + Office Depot merger. One stock was down 35%, the other down 17%. The government is still enforcing laws in a 1980s way, giving no consideration to internet shopping because its enabling order was done prior to the invention of the internet. To say that this merger would lessen competition is economic nonsense. These "brick and mortar" companies are headed to "creative destruction" as a better business model is taking over. I say, let them go through their death throes without government trying to speed the process.

And in other news, sales of adult diapers are greater than sales of infant diapers in Japan.

[Da Geezer]

I flew to Orlando-Sanford last week for $ 165.00 round-trip. I'm sure that regulation has lowered prices somewhere in the economy, but I just cannot think of where. I remember when my phone bill was $ 500-1,000 monthly under highly regulated monopoly carrier, AT+T. Now, my total bill for internet, TV, and phone is $ 170.00. I don't fly business class, but, for me, airfare has gone down with less regulation.

Some mention has been made of the elimination of the Fairness Doctrine giving birth to lots of TV directed to niche markets (like FOX news and its niche of 52% of the news market). To me, that has been fine. More choice. Better quality. Less government control.