The Problem of Monopoly

You are probably aware that one of the airlines will no longer serve food on flights. This is an outgrowth of the concentration of airlines as their numbers diminish. If you don’t have to compete; you don’t have to provide services or make your pricing competitive. Every American who uses air travel will face increasing fees and dismal service because in a monopoly you don’t have to do a good job or provide a decent service. You have to pay them anyway.

James Pilant

This is Edward Lotterman writing in the Pioneer Press –

Increasing monopoly power can get you coming and going, especially at the airport. The decreased competition in air travel resulting from successive mergers among airlines has already increased air fares. Now a pending take-over of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group by either Hertz or Avis promises to reduce competition once you are off the plane.

But these days, questions of monopoly power seem a dead issue in Congress and among the general public. Such apathy is true even in the face of growing concentration in banking and financial services, where just three banks now hold a third of all deposits and are making well over half of new mortgage loans. Teddy Roosevelt must be turning over in his grave.