OPEC (legitimized price fixing)
If you run a business, you are probably aware that you can’t meet with your competitors and agree to set prices. This is called price fixing and it is illegal in the US. Yet, essentially the same thing occurs with large oil producers, and it is acceptable. OPEC is a group of oil producing nations that meet to discuss output or essentially price of oil.
Other companies such as Debeers do similar things. They stockpile diamonds and try to keep the price of diamonds as high as possible. In fact, if the executives of Debeers set foot in the US, they will be arrested. Yet, oil producing nations leaders are welcome to visit the US and discuss politics without second thought and without being looked down upon.
Something is very wrong about this. In a competitive market as we see it in the US, the balance of supply and demand is determined by the marketplace and not the companies selling the product/service. If certain industries become to unprofitable in the US, companies merge together which inevitable increase price of a given product/service and makes it profitable again. What we don’t do is operate as numerous separate companies and price fix to stay profitable.
What can be done about this? Well getting rid of OPEC seems impossible, so increasing domestic production of oil seems like the thing to do as well as finding alternative resources to use besides oil such as gas, electric and other sources of energy.
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