[yoyohello13]

This completely discounts the work involved to find service providers you trust. I spent a long time finding a Doctor I trust, finding a Vet I trust, etc. I don't want a "free market" solution where I need to switch providers every 6 months because some rich dude is being a dick.

This is the problem with so many market focused solutions. They discount the burden put on the consumer.

[lotsofpulp]

Participating in a market is work, the only way a market (or life in general) works is if you hold your counterparties accountable.

> I don't want a "free market" solution where I need to switch providers every 6 months because some rich dude is being a dick.

Nature does not have a mandate that good quality services and products be available at low prices at all times. The rich dude being a “dick” was a tired vet owner who wanted to sell their equity, just like anyone else who sells their SP500 shares or their house.

The only thing that can be done is encourage government policies to ensure more sellers exist.

[schubidubiduba]

Nature doesn't have a mandate for anything. It's up to us to shape the world we want to have as a society

[rootusrootus]

If the market is healthy, there will already be two or three providers in town instead of one that has any sort of monopoly, and the LBO won't be lucrative to begin with.

[sarchertech]

Unless the PE firm comes in and buys up all of the vet practices in town (or enough of them), which is a tactic they like to employ.

[whatevaa]

They buy all of them.

[rootusrootus]

In a perfect world we'd have antitrust enforcement all the way from the top of government down to the municipality, so that this kind of behavior could be curbed. But I bet few cities bother to try at all.

[s1artibartfast]

I think the idea is that you'd have to switch less often.

People can scam you and jerk you around because you don't have options.

If you had options, they might be less inclined

[Buttons840]

You're complaining about healthcare being tied to employment. That sucks. Yeah, we should get rid of that.

Coupling healthcare and employment makes it harder for agents to move and trade "freely" in the "free market".

So, I say again. The things that happen in a healthy free market are not happening in our society.

[sarchertech]

The original poster was talking about vets, which don’t have that issue.