With the recent news that AT&T plans to purchase T-Mobile, effectively bringing the cellular market to a duopoly (with Verizon as the only other real competitor), I got to thinking - are we as a country, doomed to face the TBTF syndrome in every aspect of life?  Think about it, we just spent like a bazillion dollars bailing out the banks because they were deemed "too big to fail".  The idea being, that if these banks failed, American life, as we know it, would grind to a halt.  No doubt.  I won't get into why that might not be such a bad thing right now, that's a different post.  The point is, "we needed these banks".  So when I look at what's happened with the cellular market, the fact that more than 80% of our food comes from just 4 companies, our satellite radio is now controlled by just one company,  control of the internet is rapidly being consolidated (just look at Comcast's track record), etc. etc. etc. I have to wonder; aren't all of these companies rapidly becoming "too big to  fail"?  And what about the oil companies?  DOW Chemical?  The list goes on and on.  I mean, isn't consolidation (monopolization) the point of capitalism?  It seems to me, the only reason we haven't bailed out these companies is because they have yet to need a bailout.  But what happens when they do?  And in the meantime, are we ok with fewer and fewer companies controlling...well, EVERYTHING?  Isn't it just a matter of time before Comcast says it can't keep up with infrastructure demands (as they've already begun doing, their solution being to filter traffic) and we, the people of this country are told we need to "bail them out" if we are to hang on to our internet?  All the while, of course, submitting to Comcast's rules of the game instead of ours?  Our money, they're rules.  Seems like that's pretty much how it worked with the banks.  The execs of those banks aren't exactly going home poor (just look at this chart of exec pay SINCE the bailouts).

So what's the plan here?  It sure seems like the services that should be provided by our government are rapidly being taken over by just a few corporations.  Now don't get me wrong, never in a million years would I trust our government to do a good job running these services either, but at least I can hang onto the idealist belief that we the people might have some say in how business is conducted when the government is actually in charge... but they're not.  Clearly they're not.  If you haven't picked that up from the recent supreme court rulings (, then you're not paying attention.  So the long and the short of it is, we're building a new government - The Corporatocracy.  A group of companies that control every aspect of life (oil, food, medical, communications, etc.) that plays by its own rules, takes our money, and rewards its execs to the tune of tens of millions of dollars each, all while our services (well - services to the bottom 80% of us anyway) decline in quality and availability.  Even fire protection is now being reserved for the rich.  Call me crazy but this doesn't seem like a winning strategy.  Just the idea of it: the bigger (more wealthy) you are, the more you deserve being saved... the little guy be damned.  Now that's a system I can get behind!  Too Big to Fail - The New Normal.  Just wait and see.

If you want to do something about this, check out Annie Leonard's video on the topic: http://storyofstuff.org/citizensunited/

Here you have it, right from Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/28/us-libya-oil-rebels-idUSTRE72R6X620110328

I also have to agree with this second article, which essentially states that the left (more specifically, the war-supporting left) is a bunch of hypocritical, self-righteous thugs...  Maybe this is a bit extreme but seriously, to use the guise of "helping those poor people out" is just as reprehensible, if not more so, than lying about WMDs.  Particularly when you look at all the humanitarian aid we're NOT giving in countless other countries in MUCH worse situations than Libya.  The bottom line is that if you've got oil, we'll make a deal.  Play ball or be prepared to suffer the consequences.  Nothing new under the sun indeed.  Just another page from the Economic Hitman's playbook.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/52062_Page2.html