Markets Need Governing

Lots of politicians still make decisions based on the the ideological position government should stay out of markets.  It is a view that celebrates ideology over reality.  Governments are far from perfect, they are composed of people after all, but markets are also composed of people and are equally imperfect.

Markets push individual companies seeking competitive advantage to pay as little wages as possible, even though when all companies are doing the same thing it is shrinking the consumer base that supports the economy.  It's in everyone's interest to insure that markets spread the wealth through the population to insure maximum circulation of money but more often than not market mechanisms do the opposite.

It is in the nature of sellers in markets to seek a monopoly. If we allow monopolies even the companies that gain a monopoly lose.  They may in the long run have more wealth in comparison to others but their wealth will be as a percentage of a smaller economy.  Government needs to preclude monopolies.

Corporations and financial markets love mergers even though they defeat the competitive nature of markets that make them work.  Much of the time the main purpose of a mergers is to try to skate as close to a monopoly as you can.  A competitive market requires government oversight of business mergers to control the market efforts to achieve monopoly.

In a true free market there would be no such thing as a corporation.  Corporations are fictions invented by government which grant collections of individuals special powers and protections.  Maintaining a vibrant democracy and a strong economy requires that we recognize that corporations are not people, they are organizations created by government and can and should be regulated by government.