As my Kos signature has said for most of my increasingly lengthy membership in this esteemed venue:
Free markets would be a great idea, if markets were actually free.
And I always love to step in and correct the many defenders of "free markets" huddled in their GOP mansions, whenever they start bloviating about what a magic and wonderful system it is.
Furthermore, they love to insist that its principles be carved in granite and placed at the front door of every school and courthouse in the nation to remind our young people that America is truly an exceptional nation.
Well join me below the fluttering orange flag of freedom and clarity for one great example of just how exceptional we are:
Ladies and gentlemen, behold your airline transportation industry and the free market forces guiding its operations today:
If you’re searching for a cheap airfare, you’re looking in the wrong country. Really. Go anywhere but the United States. Go to Bangkok, where airfares for North American travelers are down 7 percent over the last year (according to Kayak). Or Milan, where airfares are down 13 percent. Or New Delhi, where airfares are down 11 percent.
(Snip)
At the U.S.’s 10 most-trafficked airports, average inflation-adjusted airfares have increased at eight of them since 2011. They’re up 11 percent at La Guardia, 9 percent at Chicago-O’Hare, 6 percent at Boston and 16 percent in Atlanta.
And while you are considering those facts, give similar consideration to these from the
International Air Transport Association:
According to IATA's latest figures, the world's airlines have seen a FORTY TWO PERCENT DROP in the price of jet fuel over the past year.
And according to IATA, this drop represents a SAVINGS to the air industry of almost EIGHTY FOUR BILLION DOLLARS.
And this from an industry which in recent years has found increasingly Draconian ways to separate you from your money when you use their services while making the entire process increasingly painful....charges for baggage, charges for "premium" (e.g. slightly less uncomfortable) seats, charges for anything but cheap pretzels (going soon) and as I have predicted...coming shortly, charges to use the bathroom.
Yes, any business needs to make a profit, but if free markets were at work here, you would be seeing competition between carriers.
And you are not: Because there are fewer carriers, they offer fewer and fewer competitive choices because you are locked into routes and airports they dominate, and because they can keep their profits and NOT lower their fares.
And they can and they do not. And they are locking themselves into this for the long haul through fuel price hedging that will continue to keep their fuel costs low if and when the price of petroleum goes back up again.
And that is today's lesson in free market forces.
For additional reading credit, see American cable televisions
See also cell phone carriers.
See your dentist and ask if he can help you figure out why you grind your teeth at night.
See also fill in the blank