Had lots of time to think in the recent darkness…  And it occurred to me that there is a simple test of whether you are at the mercy of an unfair monopoly:

Are the behaviors of the customer and the provider balanced?  Can the buyer influence the provider’s behavior and success, and vice versa?

For example, if I want a product but won’t pay for it, I (generally) can’t have it.  If a provider has a product that doesn’t work, I won’t buy it.  There’s a natural symmetry there that limits how badly either group can be screwed over.

But take my local power company, Progress Energy.  If I don’t pay a bill, they are VERY quick to cut off the power (I missed a payment by a day or so when I switched banks and even though they had a deposit on hold, they cut the power).

But if they fail to deliver their product, say for 5 hours on a cold wet rainy weekend evening, I get nothing and have zero recourse.

Interesting!

And with that happy thought, I’ll get back to work

Categories: Old Posts
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