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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 13th, 2023

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  • Many monopolies form by first using a dominant market position to sell at a price no competitor can afford to match. Choice has already been removed before the “competition” folds or pulls out of the market. The consequences don’t happen overnight; you feel the squeeze before the “true” monopoly emerges. Amazon isn’t going to sell at a cheaper price once their competitors go out of business out of the kindness of their hearts.

    Further, high consumer price is just one form monopoly power takes. Reduced labor power, wages, and worse working conditions are other important concerns, in addition to removing product variety and innovation incentive.


  • I’m sure it varies a bit by region, but that wouldn’t be a crazy price for the NE. HVAC is just expensive these days.

    I’d recommend getting at least three quotes. If different companies propose different setups (e.g., all heads vs ducted vs mixed), try to get at least two quotes for each. I ended up getting six quotes due to how much they varied in both price and design. My highest and lowest quotes were more than 20k apart for a <1500 sqft space.

    If you have access to a 0% financing program, don’t wait too long. Those run out quick because it’s such an amazing deal.


  • I feel like a conspiracy nutjob, but I can’t see another reason for it sometimes.

    The last bus in my city is about 10-20 minutes before most theater shows end in our downtown. So I can take the bus to go see a show, but I can’t take one back unless I rudely leave during the final scene. Same deal for things like bar trivia. It’s like they want people to drive drunk.

    And I can’t feasibly walk home because there’s two goddamn highways bisecting the city that make getting from downtown to my neighborhood take five times as long to walk as it should.