personally, it’s corporate consolidation. network, HBO, is owned by parent company Time Warner, which is attempting to merge with AT&T. The same move has been attempted by airline giants and even makeup manufacturers to make not just a multifaceted corporation but an uber corporation.
“It’s true, ‘small businesses are the backbone of our economy’ is that rare thing that every politician agrees on,” Oliver said Sunday, quoting several politicians. Yet, despite what politicians might say, America is not in some “golden age of small-business startups,” and the rate of startups has dropped to a level lower than even the 1970s. Oliver explained that this is due, in part, to rampant corporate consolidation.
Oliver admitted given the merger his parent company is trying to do, this story is a little dangerous for him. “That is, assuming AT&T can get their sh*tty service to work long enough to actually see this,” he mocked. “AT&T, it’s the top telecom company around alphabetically and nothing else.”
This happened, despite antitrust laws on the books, the scales have tipped toward merging companies. “Which, has lead to real problems,” Oliver explained. “Let’s start with the obvious, the workers. Mergers can often mean big layoffs. But it’s not just employees that can suffer, consumers can too.”
The worst example comes from the airline industry, where, in 2000, there were once 10 airline companies, today there are merely four. They dominate 83 percent of the entire airline market. Even rental car companies are dominated by the top three and beer companies are owned by just two corporations. Keep buying AT&T