Despite
all the bullshit about 'small business is the engine room of our
economy' the big banks, supermarkets and oil companies continue to
dominate the decisions of our government. Even Golden Showers Shire
has its share of self-interested bureaucrats who just want to please
the Chardoney-end of Bannockburn and not the normal powerless
residents of its smaller villages.
The
supposed advantages of mega-mergers that have taken place over the
last thirty years in drug companies, airlines, banking conglomerates
and mining magnates have supposed to have been to make the economy
and the country more robust, save money and bring down prices. Rather
than see to it that Australia looks after its own economy our
companies, more than likely owned by overseas concerns want to take
on the world with the crazy belief that they are God's gift to the
world and our 25 million can compete toe-to-toe with the other 5
billion pairs of feet on our planet (apologies to any one-footed
residents).
The
reality is we end up with near monopoly power by a few companies
willing to spread their money into other peoples businesses and exert
pressure on our governments any which way they can.
Alphabet
is one such company only intent on controlling our every move to
their profitable advantage.
Take
the spurious example of the CSG miners warning that Australia is
likely to run out of gas in the next twenty years but failing to
mention that we are selling it overseas in quantities that in one
year we sell about ten years supply of our own consumption, and might
we add, at prices that we could only dream about.
I
don't see the point of our politicians saying the country is not
cost-effective (the constant blame on wages and not on compliance
costs) or efficient enough to make our own stuff at competitive
prices when they could halve the cost of energy tomorrow and allow
our home-grown businesses to succeed.
Big
chains beat out string every time. The large companies don't need to
be competitive they just buy out the competition and maintain prices
they want. I know of no example where prices have gone down because a
company has merged and become more efficient. We'll keep the
analogies coming by saying that the big fish are constantly gnawing
on the vitals of the smaller fish all the way down the food chain.
The
bigger is better complex does not hold true either, Dunbar numbers
disprove that theory, and companies these days certainly don't put
the welfare of their customers first. More and more the corporate
circus calls out to us 'come in suckers!'.
Unless
governments put in place protections for the electors, the spate of
naughty banks and finance companies, insurance, aged care and the
death industry will continue to run amok with millions in customers
funds when financial protections for the customer are removed in
return for big political donations, Deregulation actually promotes
efficiency and competition is a myth that our politicians fall for
every time an industry wants to increase its power and profits.
Bigger
business doesn't always provide bigger returns for the owners either,
as Board members and CEO's share management fees in the millions
every time they make a decision to spend our money. Selling off your
own arse in big business is more common than rent boys along 'the
Wall'. (Sydney joke)
