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by tomcam
3453 days ago
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I have complex feelings about this. As a libertarian type I say one forces you to use Google (yes, I know they're by far the most effective ad network). I don't feel like their natural monopoly in search has hurt me much. Normally I would not see any reason for the US to get involved in GOOG's business. On the other hand, I have seen Google do its very best to pervert the free market. Their name appears well over 300 times in the Obama White House guestbook and they support tons of liberal causes while slipping into bed with the three-lettered branches of federal government whenever it suits them. Diversity is every bit as important as Google preaches it. So where are their Filipinos, Samoans, Latinos, African Americans, and other persons of color? Their contempt for paying customers like Fark is legendary. I have heard many, many stories like Fark's over the years. I personally know people put out of business this way. And I suspect Google puts their political thumb on many search results. Because of this detestable level of hypocrisy, I say regulate the hell out them. Unlike Lavabit, they welcomed the government with open arms in lobbying efforts, committed gross violations of their customers' privacy, and have chosen to sequester tens of billions of dollars in taxes over three continents in a way that small businesses like mine never could. Google loves the Feds so much? Throw them to the antitrust wolves. |
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I really wish there was more understanding that economic theory is essentially political, that markets are about political power relationships, not about goods and services, and that there's always a government of some kind as a central enforcer behind every market - and it probably isn't truly democratically accountable, no matter how often people get to vote.
Monopolies and cartels that treat customers with arrogance and contempt are the inevitable, predictable products of competitive market capitalism.
And antitrust is a political weapon, not a moral or economic one. Google will not be hit with antitrust action unless it makes some political missteps. I expect that for now, it's far more useful to keep Google intact.