Too big to fail = too big

Once upon a time, I believed that big government was the the way to control big business, i.e., mega corporations. Then came regulatory capture and Citizens United. Now I’m of the opinion that too big to fail is simply too big and we can't afford that kind of oligarchy. The recent example of UnitedHealth and the damage being done through their failures confirms my opinion. The recent behavior of a number of college and universities, calling police riot squads to disperse peaceful student protesters doesn’t do anything to make me rethink my assessment.

small, but beautiful, bird, scarlet tanager

Photo by J. Harrington

If a business has only one customer, that customer can essentially control the business. If a customer has only one source for a critical element, the customer is totally dependent on that source. Neither is a healthy situation. For example, look at the status of downtown high-rise office towers now seeking new tenants after the recent pandemic triggered lots of work from home options. For too long, business consolidation has been see as a way to control prices through increased efficiency. Remember the 2007-2008 economic crisis? Were financial institutions bailed out because they were “too big to fail?” Are we now watching similar developments in our health care and insurance and information system(s)?

Meanwhile, governments and economies are responding with too little, too late to a number of global environmental crises such as the sixth extinction and loss of biodiversity, climate breakdown and its ramifications, and overconsumption. Lip service to responses is paid while too much business as usual continues. We need to pay more attention and only vote for those who have demonstrated they walk their talk, although for now we are limited to the lessor of two evils.

If you think I’ve been too negative today, see if you can get a copy of Small Is Beautiful and read it. These days we’re experiencing the consequences of not following Schumacher’s guidance.

A Small Needful Fact

Ross Gay

Is that Eric Garner worked
for some time for the Parks and Rec.
Horticultural Department, which means,
perhaps, that with his very large hands,
perhaps, in all likelihood,
he put gently into the earth
some plants which, most likely,
some of them, in all likelihood,
continue to grow, continue
to do what such plants do, like house
and feed small and necessary creatures,
like being pleasant to touch and smell,
like converting sunlight
into food, like making it easier
for us to breathe.

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