Have you ever wondered why it costs over $200 and as much as $400 to purchase a pair of prescription glasses no matter where you went, even though off-the-rack glasses for those who are simply near sighted can be had for a $20 bill at almost any drug store?
The recently published “Cornered, The New Monopoly Capitalism and the Economics of Destruction” by Barry C. Lynn maintains that anti-trust laws have been virtually ignored starting with the Reagan Administration and continued by both Republican and Democrat administrations that followed.
Here is an excerpt from the fly-leaf: “You’re at the mall, looking to buy a pair of prescription sunglasses. Which of the four eyeglass stores listed in the directory should you visit first? Don’t waste a lot of time deciding; it really doesn’t matter. A single, huge international corporation owns three of the four eyeglass stores listed. And the fourth? Out of business.
“Think you’ll try your luck at Sears? Don’t bother. The same company you’ve never heard of controls their eyewear department, too. What appears at first to be a fine example of competitive capitalism in action is, in fact, an immense monopoly in disguise. And it’s far from being the only one.”
We will be providing excerpts from the book in the future, shedding light on the dangerous trend that has beset the nation over the past two decades as our free enterprise system has been strangled through acquisitions and mergers and also what is happening with health care in Lancaster.
