Losing at monopoly
Hi friends,
[I do go on today. Scroll to the bottom if you want a couple of good dinner ideas.]
The other day I went to the kitchen to make myself lunch, but I couldn’t get the stove to work. At first I thought it was a tricky burner, or maybe the pilot light. Only when I mentioned it to my husband (also working from home and ready to make lunch) did we realize we were overdue on the bill and our gas had been shut off - with no notice.
It didn’t take long to get the gas turned back on, but I kept thinking about the decision-making process for denying service to a customer with one overdue bill. What if we were a cafe, getting ready for the lunch rush?
National Grid is a British company with $20 billion in revenue (!) and a monopolistic grip on gas delivery in the Northeast U.S. In some parts of the country, National Grid’s monopoly status has enabled them to withhold gas service as a way to pressure the public to support new infrastructure (read: pipelines).
Of course we need to be responsible for our bills, but when so few companies are controlling the flow and delivery of goods and services, it feels like we’re at their mercy. The more consolidated our economy becomes, the less incentive companies have to lower prices for consumers or to innovate - to compete on cost and quality (or apparently to even make an extra effort to get in touch with delinquent customers before shutting off their gas…).
I think this might be especially true when it comes to services like utilities and health care, but it’s eye-opening to be reminded how most major pieces of our economy function as monopolies or almost-monopolies these days. For example:
Utilities: Besides National Grid, there’s Pacific Gas & Electric, the utility with a complete monopoly in Northern California that neglected to make infrastructure improvements for years in favor of boosting quarterly earnings. Their neglect caused many fires and gas explosions, including the Camp Fire, which burned down the town of Paradise, California last year and killed 86 people.
Healthcare: Insurance companies in many states have little to no competition, which means they have fewer incentives to lower prices or to improve the quality of care. Consumers, patients, whatever you want to call us humans - we suffer as a result. Especially sick, poor, vulnerable people. Meanwhile, CEO pay is definitely not suffering.
Food: USDA secretary Sonny Perdue recently told a meeting of Wisconsin dairy farmers that “in America, the big get bigger and the small go out,” and that they couldn’t count on protection from the government to stay afloat. As someone whose work has long included championing small farms, it’s heartbreaking to see how global agriculture companies are displacing family farms - not only in America’s Dairyland but all over the country.
Food and agriculture are among the U.S.’s most consolidated industries, especially in livestock production, with four companies controlling between 50-80% of the livestock markets. In a recent New Yorker article about the rise of plant-based meat alternatives, the writer points out that “the three largest meat-packing companies in America have combined annual revenues of more than 200 billion dollars.” Despite what we know about the impacts and externalized costs of commodity livestock agriculture on land, water, air, and climate - this is the dominant food system, with deep pockets and global reach.
:(
Tech: Whether we’re talking about search, e-commerce, or social networks, obviously our data and privacy are in the hands of just one major player in each category.
Facebook feels the most odious because we’ve all watched while they helped elect the current president, neglected to take care of our data and privacy, acquired or squashed any competition, and grown so powerful they control the majority of communications platforms used around the world.
The fact that Mark Z feels confident they’d win in court against the U.S. if the government pursued anti-trust measures (i.e. their pockets are so deep) makes me certain the company needs to be broken up.
There’s more, like media, retail (Amazon controls 70% of e-commerce; Jeff Bezos is worth $108 billion!), shipping, transportation - sigh. Let’s move on.
It’s true, consolidation might bring you Fleabag on demand for pennies per month and that is a great joy. It might also bring really cheap bacon and eggs (with plenty of externalized costs, just saying), and a way to stay connected to your people all over the world.
But it also exacerbates income inequality and intensifies capitalism’s absence of caring about most aspects of our lives: our safety, our environment and health, our privacy and the integrity of our work - in such a way that I’m not even sure enforcing anti-trust laws and legislating free markets is the answer (thank you to my brainy friend Emelie for helping me think some of this through).
I mean, I still love you, Elizabeth Warren! But what would it look like if we built an economic system centered around caring - a system that provides what’s needed for people’s health, welfare, maintenance, and protection? Can we imagine that? It doesn’t feel like capitalism, but I’m not sure it feels like socialism, either.
After I drafted this yesterday I listened to an episode of the Zig Zag podcast where the host and her guest pondered what it would look like if capitalism and socialism had a baby. Their ideas were interesting to consider in the context of monopolies, rising income inequality and the rest.
CARE FOR
In this section, I highlight stuff that gets me thinking about the forms and functions of care and how we express it. Have something you want to share? Tell me!
OURSELVES: Here is a recipe for self care that radiates outward and mostly takes place outside of capitalism: Log off of the internet and take a nap.
EACH OTHER: When you wake up, bake something with what’s on hand in the house. Call a friend.
THE PLANET: Go for a walk together. Feed her some baked goods when you get back.
WE ALL GOTTA EAT:
It’s true. Here’s one thing I’m cooking these days:
Stuffed Stuff:
I have a recipe coming out soon in the Globe for tomatoes stuffed with herbed quinoa. Ideally, you use leftover quinoa that’s dried out in the fridge for a bit - that will help it absorb more moisture from the tomatoes as they bake. Mix with olive oil, a garlic clove you’ve pounded into a paste, some chopped herbs like parsley and/or dill, and some toasted nuts and feta cheese. Taste, make sure it’s aggressively seasoned, then scoop out the insides of 4 tomatoes and pack in the filling. Bake at 375°F for about 35 minutes.
I also do love a stuffed pepper (photo above by Tara Morris for my book, My Kitchen Chalkboard) - heat the oven to 400°F and place a large cast iron skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Char 4 poblano peppers in the skillet, turning them frequently until they’ve softened all over and are charred in spots. Set aside to cool.
Make a filling - again with the quinoa if you want - add a cup of corn kernels or some diced tomatoes to 1/2 cup of the cooked grains, plus a handful of chopped scallion greens and 4 ounces of monterey jack cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Make a vertical slit down the center of each pepper and remove the seeds. Stuff the filling into the peppers and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and lime wedges on the side. I need this now.
Happy weekend!
Leigh
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