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Biden warns of rising democracy-threatening 'oligarchy' in grim farewell speech

20 pointsby koolba5 months ago

1 comment

dlcarrier5 months ago
As with pretty much every president, the Biden administration has been a help, not a hindrance, to rent seeking. Government mandated monopolies and oligopolies, and their oligarchical owners, benefit tremendously from the regulations that guarantee them customers.<p>Most of my recurring expenses go to such organizations, and despite their terrible services, I have no choice but to do business with them.<p>I&#x27;ve had three different mortgages, and each time a government organization has purchased the mortgage and given Wells Fargo a commission to service it. They are effectively non-responsive to any customer service issues, because they don&#x27;t need to try to retain me as a customer — they are guaranteed to get my business whether I want it or not.<p>That&#x27;s not the worst part though; on multiple occasions they have tried to transfer my hazard insurance to another company. When they do this, I have to call my real insurance provider (USAA) and have them use their inside connections to contract Wells Fargo and remind them that I currently have an insurance provider and that I have no plans to change.<p>The only high-speed wired Internet provider at my address is Comcast, and they also have terrible customer service, as well as terrible reliability, but at least they don&#x27;t directly try to scam me.<p>Even at a local level, rent seeking is really bad. I am legally required to have a specific company take my garbage to the dump, even when it&#x27;s right by where I work and I could easily take it myself. If I don&#x27;t sign up for pickup, they can charge me anyway, while providing absolutely no service, and if I don&#x27;t pay, they can put a lien on my house, which if I refuse to pay will lead to the county auctioning off my house.
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