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Companies didn't ask your opinion when they offshore manufacturing to Asia. They didn't ask your opinion when they offshore support to call centers in Asia. Companies don't ask your opinion, they do what they think is best for their financial interest, and that is how capitalism works.

Once upon a time, not too long ago, there was someone who would bag your groceries, and someone who would clean your window at the gas station. Now you do self-checkout. Has anyone asked for this? Your quality of life is worse, the companies are automating away humanity into something they think is more profitable for them.

In a society where you don't have government protection for such companies, there would be other companies who provide a better service whose competition would win. But when you have a fat corrupt government, lobbying makes sense, and crony-capitalism births monopolies which cannot have any competition. Then they do whatever they want to you and society at large, and they don't owe you, you owe them. Your tax dollars sponsor all of this even more than your direct payments do.






You're right but the knee-jerk response to this realization is to cut taxes and starve the government of its only legitimate fundraising mechanism.

While government sponsored monopolies certainly exist, monopolies themselves are a natural outcome of competition.

Deregulation would break some monopolies while encouraging others to grow. The new monopolies may be far worse than the ones we had before.


New Jersey gas stations still do this, and here is napkin cost calculation

https://www.sciotoanalysis.com/news/2024/7/12/how-much-do-yo...


Just a bizarre pedantry that isn't even true-- he said clean your windows, not pump your gas.

Plenty of stores still have human checkers and baggers as an option.

It's funny how we can see the same symptoms but come to opposite conclusion on the causes and solutions.



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