Sunday, July 21, 2013

"Free marketers" deceive and oppress again

Large banks are buying commodity warehouses and then moving goods from one warehouse to another to increase their profits.  Apparently some international agreement allows them to do this.  Although this movement only adds a fraction of a cent to a beverage in an aluminum can, the huge number of cans used puts this cost to consumers in the hundreds of billions.  What's this about "you'll get ahead by hard work"?  I guess it is hard work to think of schemes to "deceive and oppress the public"*.

See "A Shuffle of Aluminum, but to Banks, Pure Gold", David Kocieniewski, New York Times,2013-07-20, also reprinted in Star Tribune, "Banks schemes adding hidden costs to consumers", 2013-07-20

* See "The Invisible Adam Smith"