Inflation: When Markets Are Rigged, Prices Skyrocket
Inflation is often blamed on supply chains, pandemics, global crises, or government spending. All of that may contribute—but they are not the whole story.
A major driver of rising prices today is the consolidation of industries into the hands of a few politically protected giants.
Monopoly + Political Protection = Higher Prices
When three or four companies dominate a sector, something predictable happens:
They stop competing. They start coordinating.
Not in a smoke-filled room—just by watching each other. One raises prices. The others follow. And because the market is rigged, consumers have nowhere else to go.
This is why inflation today is not just inflation—it is greedflation.
How Crony Capitalism Fuels Price Hikes
1. Reduced Competition
When small businesses cannot compete, mega-corporations can charge whatever they want.
Examples show up everywhere:
Airlines charging outrageous fees
Pharmaceutical companies pricing lifesaving drugs at 500% markup
Meatpacking giants raising prices even as their costs fall
Tech platforms extracting fees from every entrepreneur who uses their marketplace
When competition dies, prices rise.
2. Government Favors Distort Markets
Lobbyists push for regulations that sound good but function as weapons.
For example:
Licensing requirements that block new entrants
Zoning laws that prevent small housing developers
Patent extensions that keep cheaper drugs off the market
Subsidies that overproduce one crop while under producing another
These distortions create only one outcome: Higher prices for families.
3. Bailouts and Backstops
When large companies know they will be rescued, they become reckless:
They raise prices aggressively.
They take more risks.
They pass costs onto consumers.
They are not afraid of failure because they are protected by political friends.
This is not a free market. This is a guaranteed market—for them.
4. Artificial Scarcity
Sometimes corporations simply decide to produce less to increase profits. This happened in energy, lumber, shipping, and food processing.
