The tyranny of monopoly or "They don't have a gun to your head."

When people complain about a monopoly other people often reply, "well you can just choose not to use the product" or "they aren't holding a gun to your head." But why the heckle and jeckle do they think monopolies are a problem? This is EXACTLY why a monopoly is illegal. You HAVE to use their product. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Take high fructose corn syrup. People say it's ok. Well it's not. Argument for another day. Well, what am I supposed to do? Not buy products with corn syrup? Try it. Seriously. Try it. You can't. You can't survive without corn syrup today because it's in practically every food product you buy. You have to eat to survive. What am I supposed to do? Grow my own crops? Hand make my own ketchup? That's completely unrealistic. Maybe it was ok 150 years ago when the majority of Americans were farming their own food. But it's not practical today. I am FORCED to use HFCS. That is the problem. The HFCS manufacturers have a monopoly on the sweetener market. And my only recourse is whine about it. There are alternatives at Whole Foods for some foods, sure. But not for all foods. And be realistic. Not everyone can afford to buy all of their groceries from a gourmet grocery store. In fact, I can't afford it. And if more people would purchase those alternatives, demand would skyrocket and prices would shoot up even higher.

This isn't just about monopolies. It's about the attitude. Any time you need to use something or to do something people like to say "they aren't putting a gun to your head." Well, that might be true. The HFCS industry may not be putting a gun to my head. The oil industry isn't forcing me to drive a vehicle powered by gasoline. That's not the problem. The problem is usually that they know someone ELSE has a gun raised to my head and they are taking advantage. I have to use HFCS because I have to eat and HFCS is in what? 40% of all foodstuffs? I have to drive because society today requires it. I live in a very large city. The bus is not a reasonable alternative, especially at 4:00 AM. So the people who sell the things I hate might not have a gun raised to my head. But that doesn't stop them from taking advantage when they know someone else has a gun raised to my head. That's why a monopoly is illegal. How does the banking cartel get away with it?

Please be careful about using the phrase "gun to your head." It's pretty disrespectful, and quite frankly it's generally not true. A lot of times a figurative gun IS actually held to our heads.