Congrats on reaching 1 million subscribers! This is a great article and really makes the case for why "private equity" is such a dirty word. Who would have thought "for-profit youth sports teams" would be a thing?
Getting to this late, after I already watched the secret pod last Friday. As per usual, your Triad is so well-written, and someday, science needs to study your brain to learn how you source and then link stories to a meaningful, truly interesting central theme or topic in your newsletter. I'm such a fan girl of you, JVL. Almost cried with #4. I got defensive for Sarah on the Secret show when you and Sarah hashed out the million vs. billion subscribers. I didn't want bad JVL to steal Sarah's happy. But, I get you now, and am grateful that you friends got together to build this community that I joyfully participate in, and learn something every. single. day. BTW, I'm with you on the zipper thing. I knew a guy who worked for YKK once. They are superior, hands - or zippers - down!
Jonathan Tepper and Denise Hearn's book "The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition" is a remarkable read that I recommend to everyone. It plainly demonstrates the problems of monopolization using real world scenarios. My favorite passage illustrates the typical consumer's daily plight with monopolies, duopolies and oligopolies. I'm paraphrasing because my copy of the book is in my car and not nearby:
You wake up in the morning from an alarm that you set on your mobile phone which was probably manufactured by an oligopolist (e.g., Apple, Samsung or Google). The device's telephone service provider and its mobile ISP are also chosen from just a few giants (AT&T, Verizon, etc.).
The music, podcast, etc. that you listen to while getting ready (and later commuting to work) is probably streamed on one of only a few available platforms (Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, etc.).
Speaking of your morning commute, even the car you drive is not immune from oligopolies. E.g., The vehicle's grill may say VW on it, but Volkswagen's major controlling shareholder is Porsche. Put another way, it is likely that your car's manufacturer has stake in the "competition" (see: Big Backpack).
The coffee you picked up on your way to work might've been locally sourced, but odds are you stopped at a big chain like Starbucks, Dunkin, Biggby, etc. Similarly, the lunch you grab might be from a single-location, mom-and-pop restaurant, or it could be from Chipotle or Burger King. The soda you drink with lunch will probably be made by either Coke or Pepsi. Your condiments were likely produced by Kraft-Heinz (remember when those two companies were separate?) or French's.
Suppose you're going to meet some friends for happy hour after work. Chances are the beer you order will be made by either Anheuser Busch InBev or Molson Coors—two conglomerates consisting of what used to be five unique beer companies—due to their combined 65% market share. Will you order a burger? If so, chances are the beef will come from one of four titans which account for around 85% of the beef market in the US (Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS SA or National Beef Packing Co.).
Heaven forbid you have a doctor's appointment on the schedule. I hope your preferred doctor accepts one of the few health insurers in your market. Per the AMA, in 91% of metro areas in the USA, one insurer holds at least 30% of the market share. Further, in nearly half of all US metro areas (47%), a single insurer holds at least 50% of the market. I don't see data, but I can't imagine the market is more competitive in rural, non-metro areas.
And when you've reached the end of your day and all you wanna do is watch TV, I hope you'll enjoy the cable service provided by Charter, Comcast or DirecTV, because there's probably nowhere else to go in your market. You've cut the cable cord? Congratulations, because I hear the options offered by the small number of streaming platforms are all excellent and cheap and not at all cumbersome to use.
What's more? Even the way you give the oligopolists your money is courtesy of a duopoly. Every transaction that you authorize with your debit or credit card comes with a service fee for VISA or MasterCard, whomever services your card. And when those fees are controlled by a duopoly, the fees get more expensive. Typically, as I've seen in my home state of Michigan, retailers pass on these increased charges to the consumer.
Today I learned that backpack snobbery is a thing. Not judging, just realizing I'm not the only one. JVL, check out Go Ruck. They are an American company that makes REALLY good gear. Their rucks are pretty no-frills, but they last forever. I have two that have seen some shite but will probably outlast me.
I’m pretty sure reducing the quality of everything we spend money on is a big part of the sour mood of the country. Not does everything keep getting more expensive, what they sell you is a pile of crap
During the 2024 American election I watched from up here in Canada and despaired. While I believe American national hubris could come down a notch, the fact is that when the US throws its weight around, other countries are bruised and some are crushed. Pierre Trudeau (Justin's father and himself a Prime Minister of Canada) famously (well, in Canada it's famous) compared Canada-US relations as sleeping next to an elephant: no matter how even-tempered and well-meaning the US elephant, Canada feels its every twitch. But I can't even vote in your elections.
So I did what I hoped was the next best thing and while I stopped buying American-made or grown products where I could, I also supported progressive American YouTube channels. But my resources are limited, there are Canadian media outlets that need support, and so I have to make choices I wish I didn't have to. While trimming my expenses I decided to keep The Bulwark as the one American media outlet I support. If America ever emerges from this collapse into kleptocratic authoritarianism, The Bulwark will be a significant factor in the recovery, and I don't mind my small contribution toward keeping the lights on. In the long run, it helps Canada, too.
Congrats on reaching 1 million subscribers! This is a great article and really makes the case for why "private equity" is such a dirty word. Who would have thought "for-profit youth sports teams" would be a thing?
I have learned so much by reading these articles.
Thanks JVL for putting this into bite sized pieces I can consume while I drink my caffeine in the morning.
It really is stunning how absolutely screwed we are.
I had to come back to say, please write the YKK piece!
JVL You need to check out Big by Matt Stoller on Substack. It's all anti-trust and how monopolies do exactly what you're on about here. Mark Licker
Getting to this late, after I already watched the secret pod last Friday. As per usual, your Triad is so well-written, and someday, science needs to study your brain to learn how you source and then link stories to a meaningful, truly interesting central theme or topic in your newsletter. I'm such a fan girl of you, JVL. Almost cried with #4. I got defensive for Sarah on the Secret show when you and Sarah hashed out the million vs. billion subscribers. I didn't want bad JVL to steal Sarah's happy. But, I get you now, and am grateful that you friends got together to build this community that I joyfully participate in, and learn something every. single. day. BTW, I'm with you on the zipper thing. I knew a guy who worked for YKK once. They are superior, hands - or zippers - down!
I've had many zippers fail in my life... But never once was it a YKK.
Good one! This subject is worth revisiting again imo. One newsletter is not enough.
Jonathan Tepper and Denise Hearn's book "The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition" is a remarkable read that I recommend to everyone. It plainly demonstrates the problems of monopolization using real world scenarios. My favorite passage illustrates the typical consumer's daily plight with monopolies, duopolies and oligopolies. I'm paraphrasing because my copy of the book is in my car and not nearby:
You wake up in the morning from an alarm that you set on your mobile phone which was probably manufactured by an oligopolist (e.g., Apple, Samsung or Google). The device's telephone service provider and its mobile ISP are also chosen from just a few giants (AT&T, Verizon, etc.).
The music, podcast, etc. that you listen to while getting ready (and later commuting to work) is probably streamed on one of only a few available platforms (Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, etc.).
Speaking of your morning commute, even the car you drive is not immune from oligopolies. E.g., The vehicle's grill may say VW on it, but Volkswagen's major controlling shareholder is Porsche. Put another way, it is likely that your car's manufacturer has stake in the "competition" (see: Big Backpack).
The coffee you picked up on your way to work might've been locally sourced, but odds are you stopped at a big chain like Starbucks, Dunkin, Biggby, etc. Similarly, the lunch you grab might be from a single-location, mom-and-pop restaurant, or it could be from Chipotle or Burger King. The soda you drink with lunch will probably be made by either Coke or Pepsi. Your condiments were likely produced by Kraft-Heinz (remember when those two companies were separate?) or French's.
Suppose you're going to meet some friends for happy hour after work. Chances are the beer you order will be made by either Anheuser Busch InBev or Molson Coors—two conglomerates consisting of what used to be five unique beer companies—due to their combined 65% market share. Will you order a burger? If so, chances are the beef will come from one of four titans which account for around 85% of the beef market in the US (Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS SA or National Beef Packing Co.).
Heaven forbid you have a doctor's appointment on the schedule. I hope your preferred doctor accepts one of the few health insurers in your market. Per the AMA, in 91% of metro areas in the USA, one insurer holds at least 30% of the market share. Further, in nearly half of all US metro areas (47%), a single insurer holds at least 50% of the market. I don't see data, but I can't imagine the market is more competitive in rural, non-metro areas.
And when you've reached the end of your day and all you wanna do is watch TV, I hope you'll enjoy the cable service provided by Charter, Comcast or DirecTV, because there's probably nowhere else to go in your market. You've cut the cable cord? Congratulations, because I hear the options offered by the small number of streaming platforms are all excellent and cheap and not at all cumbersome to use.
What's more? Even the way you give the oligopolists your money is courtesy of a duopoly. Every transaction that you authorize with your debit or credit card comes with a service fee for VISA or MasterCard, whomever services your card. And when those fees are controlled by a duopoly, the fees get more expensive. Typically, as I've seen in my home state of Michigan, retailers pass on these increased charges to the consumer.
What a time to be alive!
Today I learned that backpack snobbery is a thing. Not judging, just realizing I'm not the only one. JVL, check out Go Ruck. They are an American company that makes REALLY good gear. Their rucks are pretty no-frills, but they last forever. I have two that have seen some shite but will probably outlast me.
Appreciate you all. Keep fighting the good fight. We'll do our part to turn our Meemaws and Pawpaws into Bulwark fans just like us.
There are a lot of good reasons to love and appreciate JVL. But his unrelenting hatred for Ross Douthat is my favorite.
JVL, I’m curious what you think about this NWO-MAGA comparison video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18mhskUntV/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Congratulations on your success. It helps us all to feel like it's our success, too. So rare in our world, today. Thank you to all of you!
I’m pretty sure reducing the quality of everything we spend money on is a big part of the sour mood of the country. Not does everything keep getting more expensive, what they sell you is a pile of crap
During the 2024 American election I watched from up here in Canada and despaired. While I believe American national hubris could come down a notch, the fact is that when the US throws its weight around, other countries are bruised and some are crushed. Pierre Trudeau (Justin's father and himself a Prime Minister of Canada) famously (well, in Canada it's famous) compared Canada-US relations as sleeping next to an elephant: no matter how even-tempered and well-meaning the US elephant, Canada feels its every twitch. But I can't even vote in your elections.
So I did what I hoped was the next best thing and while I stopped buying American-made or grown products where I could, I also supported progressive American YouTube channels. But my resources are limited, there are Canadian media outlets that need support, and so I have to make choices I wish I didn't have to. While trimming my expenses I decided to keep The Bulwark as the one American media outlet I support. If America ever emerges from this collapse into kleptocratic authoritarianism, The Bulwark will be a significant factor in the recovery, and I don't mind my small contribution toward keeping the lights on. In the long run, it helps Canada, too.
Keep up the great work, JVL and team! My only complaint is you produce too much excellent content for me to consume! I truly have to prioritize.