lvc@cbscc.UUCP (Larry Cipriani) (12/08/84)
Our economics teacher Tim Sevener disregards two things: 1) The oligopolistic structure of the market came about in a climate of regulation -- primarily because of that regulation. Exxon is not a phenomenon of laissez-faire capitalism. 2) Even setting point 1 aside, government action produces inefficiencies of its own. Most (albeit not all) advocates of intervention ignore this ought-to-be-obvious fact. It should be no suprise to you that attempts by mainstream economists to estimate the costs of these inefficiencies INVARIABLY place the costs as not-less-than roughly equal to the costs of the inefficiencies which would obtain from unregulated oligopoly. Larry Cipriani (posting for an economist friend) cbscc!cbsch!lvc