Alternet: U.S. Economy Increasingly Dominated by Monopolies as 2015 Corporate Mergers Continue

[inanna]

November 17, 2015

There’s more evidence that corporate America is becoming ever more monopolistic and that’s not good for small businesses or consumers. This year is on track to see the most corporate mergers and takeovers since the Great Recession of 2008, according to many business page reports that said October was the fifth biggest month ever for mergers.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported in a recent series that corporate America is increasingly forcing its customers to agree to arbitration in disputes—forgoing the constitutional right to a jury trial—when signing contracts for basic services, and Robert Reich said in his new book, Saving Capitalism, the U.S. economy is increasingly dominated by monopolies.

<snip>

The business press cheers mergers and acquisitions as a sign that the economy is robust, but that merely reveals its bias toward servicing those at the top of country’s economic pyramid. On the receiving end of the latest wave of mergers are consumers and the public that almost never sees any savings. Instead, there typically are fewer choices and whenever one signs a contract for services with a big corporation, one usually has to agree to private arbitration in disputes, which shuts off access to the court system.

“Over the last few years, it has become increasingly difficult to apply for a credit card, use a cellphone, get cable or Internet service, or shop online without agreeing to private arbitration. The same applies to getting a job, renting a car or placing a relative in a nursing home,” the Times said. “By inserting individual arbitration clauses into a soaring number of consumer and employment contracts, companies like American Express devised a way to circumvent the courts and bar people from joining together in class-action lawsuits, realistically the only tool citizens have to fight illegal or deceitful business practices.”

cont'd...

Link: http://www.alternet.org/economy/us-economy-increasingly-dominated-monopolies-2015-corporate-mergers-continue

[KT2000]

1. Finally! someone is taking note

control of our economy is being held in fewer and fewer hands.

[Enthusiast]

2. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!

But it probably won't have anywhere near that many recommendations because corporate rule is another thing we are ignoring until it will be too fucking late to stop it.