As Ever, The Oligarchs Are Winning

At some point, you have to wonder whether the oligarchs are really interested in democracy at all

The congressional sausage-making process that produces actual legislation is never a pretty sight and, right now, it’s anyone’s guess as to what the final Build Back Better (BBB) package will look like. It seems likely that Democrats will pass something simply because failure to do so would be admitting their complete ineptitude and ineffectiveness, with catastrophic consequences for the party and the country. Whatever does get passed with BBB will surely be called “historic” and a “generational investment,” and it absolutely will be. But it also probably won’t be enough to truly offset the massive under-investment in both the physical and human infrastructure of this country over the last half-century.

Although the press talks about the 1%, a more apt description would be American oligarchs. As a result of decades of lax antitrust enforcement, a handful of companies control over 80% of the business in many areas of our economy. As Elizabeth Warren documented in 2016, four airlines controlled 80% of passenger air travel; five health care insurers controlled over 80% of that market; three prescription drug wholesalers dominated the market and fed the opioid crisis; three chains controlled virtually…