Bring Back The Robber Barons

Jccarlton · Post by **Jccarlton** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 2:11 am

Great piece in the Wall Street Journal Today:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... inion_main

The fact is that when you go back to contemporary sources the better the men called "robber barons" look. perhaps it's time we stop living a polemic fantasy created by progressives.

Heath_h49008 · Post by **Heath_h49008** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 4:17 pm

100% correct...

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:04 pm

The Chief complaint against Rockefeller was that he drove the small dealers out of business by underpricing them.

i.e. he was the WalMart of his day.

Heath_h49008 · Post by **Heath_h49008** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:17 pm

They all purchased politicians to protect contracts and get an edge over their competitors. In an "Ideal World" the Government has no such power to sell to the Barons at any price.

End corruption by eliminating a politicians ability to sell anything of value... or at least reduce it as much as possible. (Nothing is perfect)

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 7:09 pm

Heath_h49008 wrote:They all purchased politicians to protect contracts and get an edge over their competitors. In an "Ideal World" the Government has no such power to sell to the Barons at any price.

End corruption by eliminating a politicians ability to sell anything of value... or at least reduce it as much as possible. (Nothing is perfect)

But the technology of the day required rights of way. And only government had the power (eminent domain) to acquire it at reasonable cost. i.e. electric lines, gas lines, water lines, pipelines.

When they started it was not economical to have competition. Now a days with the costs fully amortized the rights of way are treated as a public good (also common carrier rules) and access is allowed any reasonable proposal.

In fact when it comes to electricity there was a propaganda and bidding war between JP Morgan and Edison. Morgan backed Tesla who at one time worked for Edison. See the Spencer Tracy movie "Edison" and find out what the Tesla character was called. Heh.

kunkmiester · Post by **kunkmiester** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:11 pm

But the technology of the day required rights of way. And only government had the power (eminent domain) to acquire it at reasonable cost. i.e. electric lines, gas lines, water lines, pipelines.

If you separate the value added and the property, it's a bit easier. I think it might actually have been here someone posted an article on this--the point was that the officials at the time were much more open to insisting on bribes, and since they didn't give reasonably lengthed leases, there was only so much to do. The solution was to move the regulation up to the state level, where it was easier to manage the various issues. The author suggested a system where a "value added" item, like a power line, is owned separately from the land it's on, or something like that. Thus you get permission to build, but if a lease ends, you get to keep the value in the power line, even though you don't have rights to the land anymore. I'm probably screwing up the arrangement horribly, I'm not good at remembering such things.

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:18 pm

kunkmiester wrote:
But the technology of the day required rights of way. And only government had the power (eminent domain) to acquire it at reasonable cost. i.e. electric lines, gas lines, water lines, pipelines.
If you separate the value added and the property, it's a bit easier. I think it might actually have been here someone posted an article on this--the point was that the officials at the time were much more open to insisting on bribes, and since they didn't give reasonably lengthed leases, there was only so much to do. The solution was to move the regulation up to the state level, where it was easier to manage the various issues. The author suggested a system where a "value added" item, like a power line, is owned separately from the land it's on, or something like that. Thus you get permission to build, but if a lease ends, you get to keep the value in the power line, even though you don't have rights to the land anymore. I'm probably screwing up the arrangement horribly, I'm not good at remembering such things.

What is done is done. The results are good and the conditions not too onerous so what the heck. And now pipelines, grid wires, are common carriers and telephone rights of way are now open to competition. Mostly.

Some good political advice:

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

i.e. if crookedness adds 10% to the price why bother. If it doubles the price or more get out the pitchforks. In between? A judgment call.

kunkmiester · Post by **kunkmiester** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:03 am

We started a war over a lot less than 10%.

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:08 am

kunkmiester wrote:We started a war over a lot less than 10%. :twisted:

There were other issues. The 10% was just the proximate cause.