![]() government spends mostly on health care (30-35%), defense (20%), food (4%), education (3%), transportation (2%) and housing (2%). Consumer spending, which is about 70 percent of the economy, is dominated by housing (36%), food (14%), transportation (14%), energy (9%), health care (8%) and education (3%). These monopolies affect both consumer and government spending. ![]() Government (13%) has created public monopolies through dominant federal, state and local funding, especially education. ![]() Technology (8%) is monopolized through patent and copyright laws while regulated territorial franchises are awarded to local telephone, internet and cable monopolies.Transportation (10%) is monopolized through government regulations, including bailouts, favoring the Big Three automakers and airport favoritism for the four major airlines.Wind and solar energy, and also ethanol vehicle fuel made from corn and cellulose, receive tailored mandates and subsidies that block the development of other potentially lower-cost energies including renewables. The natural gas by-product of oil fracking is favored over otherwise lower-cost coal in base-load electricity markets and for backing up favored wind and solar energy. Big Oil & Gas receives preferential exemptions from environmental regulations for fracking. also creates energy monopolies by picking winners and losers among fuel types. The utility monopolies conduct rigged bidding of power supplies favoring cronies. electricity and natural gas markets are controlled by territorial utility monopolies. government-encouraged OPEC oil cartel while U.S. Energy (12%) is monopolized through the U.S.Subsidized crop exports traded by international conglomerates have been rendering agriculture uncompetitive in the developing world. The subsidies discourage the development of alternative crops, diversified family farms and healthier foods. Agriculture (8%) is monopolized through subsidies favoring traditional crops and the monopolies selling inputs for and outputs from those crops, including seeds (e.g., GMO), corporate mono-culture farms and junk food processors.Health care (18%) is monopolized through state licensure laws restricting the supply of doctors and other health professionals (according to Milton Friedman), certificate-of-need laws limiting the supply of hospitals, government and government-encouraged corporate buyer monopolies, and federal drug patent and other intellectual property laws.Housing (15%) is monopolized through the Fannie/Freddie home mortgage duopoly and Federal Housing Administration that finance and promote larger homes and urban sprawl while local politicians favor real estate developer cronies.Banking (8%) is monopolized through the Federal Reserve central bank that regulates the banks and favors big over small banks, especially when controlling interest rates through the buying and selling of bonds from and to the big banks, respectively.Today, the eight major industrial sectors, controlling about 92 percent of the economy (GDP), are dominated by special interests receiving preferential political policies. Monopolies have led to imperialism and wars. They block innovation, the key to long-term prosperity. Unlike truly competitive firms, institutions that enjoy monopoly power have more freedom to discriminate against outsiders, especially women and minorities. Monopolies have also led to many societal problems. This has led to wealth disparity, underemployment, unemployment and poverty In addition, monopolies have decreased wages for non-monopolists by decreasing the competition for workers. These monopolies restrict the supply of goods and services so they can inflate prices and profits while also reducing quality. They have slowed economic growth and caused recessions, financial crises and depressions. In 2017, University economists Jan De Loecker and Jan Eeckhout found monopolies behind nearly every economic problem. They have directly created monopolies (and oligopolies) in all major industrial sectors by imposing policies favoring preferred corporations and preferred special interests. ![]() Politicians tend to favor authoritarianism over capitalism and monopoly over competition.
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