Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Current (heterodox) thinking oninterestrates?

[Jim Devine <jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> My casual impression is that the US economy has and is becoming more
> concentrated.  What's yours?

it depends on one's time frame. Compared to the "good old daze" of the
1950s & 1960s, the US economy is currently less monopolistic, not only due
to globalization but also deregulation of trucking, airplanes, etc., and
anti-trust (AT&T), along with some technical change.

But I think the long-term trend in the future is toward increased
monopolization, as seen as the major world auto companies edge toward
creating a world oligopoly.

> Banks have merged, electric companies are merging, gas companies have
> merged with each other and are merging with the electircs.  Oil, cars,
> Pentagon favorites, etc. etc.

right, but you should realize that a lot of banks had local monopoly power
before they merged with out-of-state banks, etc.

Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxx &  http://liberalarts.lmu.edu/~jdevine