Talk:De facto monopoly

Indirect Government Intervention

The article reads "In a free market without government intervention this kind of monopoly is theoretically unobtainable for any extended amount of time." This is true, but is often masked by indirect government intervention. For example, the government could put onerous regulations on businesses- such as environmental, financial (Sarbanes-Oxley), etc . This isn't a direct intervention, but a de facto intervention that prevents competitors from entering the market.

Consider Wal*Mart, a company that paid its employees above the minimum wage for years. They lobbied congress to raise the minimum wage. This didn't affect them much, but it put considerable pressure on their competitors that were only able to pay the minimum wage. Again, this wasn't a direct government sanctioning of Wal*Mart, but a de facto one.

Is this worth mentioning?--199.125.45.10 (talk) 13:58, 15 October 2008 (UTC)