I don't see how the government, if it truly has the people's best interest at heart, would conceivably let this merger pass. There's a lot of money involved, so we all know how this will play out...
Yups. Like the various agencies (FDA, SEC, FCC) have been running things of late... It seems they have mandates that have worked for decades that are wholesale being ignored in our lifetimes.
@jinushaun Right, FTC will block it, Comcast will send a wave of lawyers and lobbyists, FTC will rescind block, but make them give in 1-2 concessions, and merger will go through.
Welcome to America, 2010. Money talks, and the collective population can't speak with as succinct a voice as a single mega-corp can. The only solution is to begin chopping the size of our government down.
@(Unverified) Are you being sarcastic? How is reducing the size of the government going to allow the population to check corporate power? If anything it will lead to a growth of corporate power because the regulatory agencies will be undermanned, underfunded, and will have narrower mandates.
"How is reducing the size of the government going to allow the population to check corporate power?"
Because the government gave Comcast local monopolies. Reducing the size of government in the right way would cut their local monopoly base. If the government would not hand out monopolies and restrict other businesses from competing, we would be a lot better off.
@dan1123 You're thinking of the wrong level of government. We're talking about the Federal Government blocking this, while the local government was what gave Comcast local monopolies in the various areas.
"Big Government" has NOTHING to do with local monopolies. Infact, it is "little government" that is responsible for local monopolies. It's a lot of them. The only thing that can prevent this consolidation is specifically the "big government" that everyone likes to whine about.
If n+1 local governments let Comcast have the local monopoly then there is nothing that can stop Comcast from owning all cable everywhere. It's like a bunch of consumers buying DOS or Windows because of inertia and perception that "it has all the apps".
@jedi Incorrect. Big government and corrupt big businesses go hand in hand. When large companies use their power to stifle the free market and competition, bad things happen. It's easier for them to do this when they have the government stroking their backs - and easier for the government to make it happen when they actually have the power to make it happen.
You don't fix things by adding more of the problem. Bigger government isn't going to solve anything. Come on...
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I don't see how the government, if it truly has the people's best interest at heart, would conceivably let this merger pass. There's a lot of money involved, so we all know how this will play out...
@jinushaun if you really think the government has the people's best interest at heart you haven't been paying much attention.
@jinushaun
Yups. Like the various agencies (FDA, SEC, FCC) have been running things of late...
It seems they have mandates that have worked for decades that are wholesale being ignored in our lifetimes.
@jinushaun Right, FTC will block it, Comcast will send a wave of lawyers and lobbyists, FTC will rescind block, but make them give in 1-2 concessions, and merger will go through.
Welcome to America, 2010. Money talks, and the collective population can't speak with as succinct a voice as a single mega-corp can. The only solution is to begin chopping the size of our government down.
@(Unverified) Are you being sarcastic? How is reducing the size of the government going to allow the population to check corporate power? If anything it will lead to a growth of corporate power because the regulatory agencies will be undermanned, underfunded, and will have narrower mandates.
@(Unverified)
"How is reducing the size of the government going to allow the population to check corporate power?"
Because the government gave Comcast local monopolies. Reducing the size of government in the right way would cut their local monopoly base. If the government would not hand out monopolies and restrict other businesses from competing, we would be a lot better off.
@dan1123 You're thinking of the wrong level of government. We're talking about the Federal Government blocking this, while the local government was what gave Comcast local monopolies in the various areas.
"Big Government" has NOTHING to do with local monopolies. Infact, it is "little government" that is responsible for local monopolies. It's a lot of them. The only thing that can prevent this consolidation is specifically the "big government" that everyone likes to whine about.
If n+1 local governments let Comcast have the local monopoly then there is nothing that can stop Comcast from owning all cable everywhere. It's like a bunch of consumers buying DOS or Windows because of inertia and perception that "it has all the apps".
@jedi Incorrect. Big government and corrupt big businesses go hand in hand. When large companies use their power to stifle the free market and competition, bad things happen. It's easier for them to do this when they have the government stroking their backs - and easier for the government to make it happen when they actually have the power to make it happen.
You don't fix things by adding more of the problem. Bigger government isn't going to solve anything. Come on...