[FirmwareBurner]

> Prices went through the roof

This is just exhibit 8345346 that this type of "free market" doesn't result in lower prices for consumers, but this grift has been going on for a long time now. Free market now means private investors are free to take over entire markets and monopolize them and bribe/lobby the government regulatory agencies to look the other way at best, or enact regulations that act as moats to defend their position against competitors at worst.

The current state of Canada (stagnating wages, exploding CoL) is what's coming everywhere in the west. The US seems to be most resilient to this, probably due to its status as the world reserve currency and a larger, more competitive economy.

[throw0101b]

> This is just exhibit 8345346 that this type of "free market" doesn't result in lower prices for consumers […]

I think it's worth asking if you have a free market at the point there's consolidation and it approaches monopoly/oligopoly territory.

[ty6853]

There is nothing even remotely close to a 'free market' in pet clinics.

A free market would be me with a sign in the corner, offering to perform surgery on your dog, with my engineering degree printed on a piece of paper and anesthetics I manufactured in my basement.

North America has severely limited the number of veterinarians and regulated the care, the monopolistic elements are likely largely a result of government intervention.