The FCC is planning new net neutrality rules. And they could enshrine pay-for-play. - The Washington Post

Fri Apr 25 04:16:08 UTC 2014

On 4/24/2014 10:44 PM, Patrick W. Gilmore wrote:
> On Apr 24, 2014, at 23:38 , Larry Sheldon <LarrySheldon at cox.net>
> wrote:
>> On 4/24/2014 10:23 PM, Patrick W. Gilmore wrote:
>
>>> The invisible hand of the market cannot fix problems when there
>>> is a monopoly.
>>>
>>> Put in economic terms, a player with Market Power is extracting
>>> Rents. (Capitalization is intentional.)
>>>
>>> Regulating monopolies allows a market to work, not the opposite.
>>
>> Regulating monopolies protects monopolies from competition.
>>
>> Monopolies can not persist without regulation.
>
> You are confused.

No.  I am not.

> Unless you are talking about "persist" on a time horizon spanning
> generations.

A monopoly can persist, as a maximum, as long as regulation protects it.

Just look at the words!  "Regulated Monopoly" has no definition without 
a monopoly.

If so, then nothing can persist, with or without
> regulation. And more importantly, I am not willing to wait that long
> for a fix.

"fix" is another monopoly preserver.

>> A regulated monopoly is a monopoly, with all of the powers granted
>> to monopolies by regulation.
>
> Regulations can work to ensure monopolies do not form. This is not
> supposition, but historical fact.

There is no case where regulation of monopolies prevented monopolies. 
The sentence doesn't even make any sense.

If that were actually true, there couldn't be any "regulated monopolies" 
could there?

> It is an open question whether our current regulator regime is
> capable of repeating that feat, however.

There are a number of cases in history where the absence of regulation 
has prevented monopolies.

-- 
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