The story of local small businesses that have been destroyed by chain stores is a bygone conclusion and has changed the USA away from free markets into hierarchical capitalism.  The result hasn’t been good for the majority of the public.  A reason for this transformation of life in the USA may be privilege bestowed by bureaucrats toward wealthy and enabled entities and people.  This reality seems to continue and to suppose a better outcome now than was the case 30 years ago is a fools game.

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/dealings-competitors/price-fixing           —  A plain agreement among competitors to fix prices is almost always illegal, whether prices are fixed at a minimum, maximum, or within some range. Illegal price fixing occurs whenever two or more competitors agree to take actions that have the effect of raising, lowering or stabilizing the price of any product or service without any legitimate justification. Price-fixing schemes are often worked out in secret and can be hard to uncover, but an agreement can be discovered from “circumstantial” evidence. For example, if direct competitors have a pattern of unexplained identical contract terms or price behavior together with other factors (such as the lack of legitimate business explanation), unlawful price fixing may be the reason. Invitations to coordinate prices also can raise concerns, as when one competitor announces publicly that it is willing to end a price war if its rival is willing to do the same, and the terms are so specific that competitors may view this as an offer to set prices jointly.–end of fic info–
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/single-firm-conduct/monopolization-defined      –Judging the conduct of an alleged monopolist requires an in-depth analysis of the market and the means used to achieve or maintain the monopoly. Obtaining a monopoly by superior products, innovation, or business acumen is legal; however, the same result achieved by exclusionary or predatory acts may raise antitrust concerns.
–end of ftc info–
Protections toward the local community public and environment seem suspended along with attention to laws in place that seemed intended to protect both.
Another reason I love NYS—http://go.pardot.com/webmail/176172/269991668/4ddfec1b0a5bf3039746ddad8c263d2ebcee572dda2983632e66d83487603cd2   —   This election, the people of New York made the monumental decision to add the right to Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthful Environment to New York State’s Bill of Rights which effectively establishes these rights as fundamental, inherent, and indefeasible, and offers us a powerful new means of protecting and preserving our environment for present and future generations.“The rights of all people and generations to clean water and air, and a healthful environment needs to be at the foundation of all good government action that affects the environment.  This constitutional amendment will ensure that whenever government acts, the environmental benefits and ramifications will be among the elements given highest priority in the decision-making process with a focus on preventing pollution rather than simply permitting it.  New York is on the cutting edge of the new national movement that seeks to secure highest constitutional recognition and protection of environmental rights. Communities and states across the nation who are part of the national Green Amendment movement have been watching New York closely; I am delighted that this success will provide them all the inspiration they need to seek and secure their own meaningful rights to a clean and healthy environment like New Yorkers now have. Now that New York has this right, it is time to put it to best use for the people and our environment.” said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper and also Founder of the national Green Amendments For The Generations. This officially makes New York the third state in the nation, the second in our watershed, and the first in the 21st century, to add a Green Amendment to their State’s constitutional Bill of Rights.—end of delawareriverkeeper info–
The following was previously shared but gives foundation to differences between free markets and capitalism.  Please excuse the repetition that seem necessary to explain the ideas.
We can no longer separate greed and privilege from exploitation because the benign reference to natural resources for profit conceal the malignancy of its result of Climate Change.  Monitization (sic) of both people and environment for profit is precisely implicit in capitalism.  Is this truly what you want for your family?  –https://popularresistance.org/wall-streets-latest-scheme-is-monetizing-nature-itself/      –[E]ven the creators of NACs admit that the ultimate goal is to extract near-infinite profits from the natural processes they seek to quantify and then monetize….Framed with the lofty talk of “sustainability” and “conservation”, media reports on the move in outlets like Fortune couldn’t avoid noting that NACs open the doors to “a new form of sustainable investment” which “has enthralled the likes of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink over the past several years even though there remain big, unanswered questions about it.”Webb cites researcher and journalist Cory Morningstar, who maintains that one of the aims of creating “Nature’s Economy” and packaging it via NACs is to drastically advance massive land grab efforts made by Wall Street and the oligarch class in recent years, including those made by Wall Street firms and billionaires like Bill Gates during the COVID crisis. The land grabs facilitated through the development of NACs, however, will largely target indigenous communities in the developing world.–end of popularresistance info–

NACs seem to be the modern version of the Discovery Doctrine  –http://ili.nativeweb.org/sdrm_art.html              –When Christopher Columbus first set foot on the white sands of Guanahani island, he performed a ceremony to “take possession” of the land for the king and queen of Spain, acting under the international laws of Western Christendom. Although the story of Columbus’ “discovery” has taken on mythological proportions in most of the Western world, few people are aware that his act of “possession” was based on a religious doctrine now known in history as the Doctrine of Discovery. Even fewer people realize that today – five centuries later – the United States government still uses this archaic Judeo-Christian doctrine to deny the rights of Native American Indians.–end of discovery doctrine info–
This is similar to protection of capitalism by using the excuse of free markets that are not the same concept—As shared within the last week or so—-It isn’t a surprise that we ignore the probable origins of our US Constitution as we disrespect its principles in favor of the hierarchical authority of capitalism, so to ignore the genocide against the people who probably inspired the US Constitution is predictable.
Capitalists have captured a concept that they are free market entities that doesn’t seem FACTual.  A local anecdote is worth sharing.  My experience over 50 years of interaction with local privately owned veterinarian services has suddenly been replaced with what I have been told by the veterinary staff is a corporate-owned business with the corporation having bought up all of the veterinary businesses in our region.  As an example, a routine procedure for one of my dogs that he needs every 6 weeks or so, began with a fee of $10 when the veterinary office was privately owned.  After the corporate takeover the fee increased first to $20.00, then to $21.00, and most recently to $40.00.  The procedure takes about 7 seconds to do with no equipment necessary.  When I asked about the impressive charge and said I thought it was predatory, the staff member of the veterinary office said that while it may be predatory, I would find no lower price due to the corporate takeover of most veterinary offices.
I’ve contacted Broome County Humane Society, Chenango County Humane Society, the Press & Sun Bulletin, Joe Angelino, Claudia Tenney, Donna Lupardo, and Letitia James, with a solution of enabling to the public, veterinary services through Humane Societies or rescue-dog facilities, with the inordinate and predatory fees going to these organization where pets whose families cannot afford services, will be dumped.  If we are to be exploited, the extraordinary fees would better go to support dumped family pets than to a corporation that may be responsible for the situation.
I’ve heard nothing in response.  This should be a situation to which many people can relate.——–end of previous info—–Update—Yesterday I heard from NYS Assembly Member Joe Angelino, the only person to respond so far.  He is aware of large companies buying out local veterinarian offices, and advises a continued search for a small establishment (my paraphrase).  The topic of fixed pricing and monopolies didn’t seem to phase Mr. Angelino.  I’m grateful for a reply, even one that feels like a brush off.  This seems to be more in the wheelhouse of an AG, but Letitia James is probably busy with her own interests that may not include the family pets of families of NYS:  Or fixed pricing and/or monopolies for that matter.
Evidence suggests erosion of local-community policing of corporations has encouraged violations of human and environmental rights.https://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate-accountability-history-corporations-us/    –When American colonists declared independence from England in 1776, they also freed themselves from control by English corporations that extracted their wealth and dominated trade. After fighting a revolution to end this exploitation, our country’s founders retained a healthy fear of corporate power and wisely limited corporations exclusively to a business role. Corporations were forbidden from attempting to influence elections, public policy, and other realms of civic society.–end of reclaimdemocracy info–
Received from commondreams —  https://info.commondreams.org/acton/rif/33231/s-11d2-2111/-/l-sf-lead-0014:5fb1/q-003c/showPreparedMessage?sid=TV2:KPFTd0pMd   —

–end of commondreams info–

We have much work to do. 

We deserve better.      https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/league-refuses-help-perpetrate-fraud–LEAGUE REFUSES TO “HELP PERPETRATE A FRAUD”

WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FROM FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE–end of lwv info–Murray Bookchin, who founded social ecology, a theory that strongly influenced early Green Socialist thought, strongly advocated the discussion and study group as the first step of any revolutionary movement. A group of individuals meets to expand their knowledge of radical thought and form a radical intellectual community; through the give and take of discussion, can eventually form ideas for next steps in organizing and political activity. According to Bookchin, study groups help create solidarity and a shared language — with a shared coherent vision — for building a mass, organizing, political movement!
Along with Climate Change, many people oppose the imperialism of the USA under control of the Republican/Democratic duopoly.  Use of the wealth of our nation should be to enhance quality of life for We The People rather than for imperialism.  Some people vote accordingly.I———————–That “we are a 2-Party system” is a fabrication of the Republican/Democratic duopoly and spread by MSM.  In FACT the majority of voters aren’t either registered Democratic or Republican.  The censorship about this info must be envied by bureaucrats of the Former USSR and their simplistic style of 1-Party elections.  

Regardless of which character sits in the Oval Office, We The People have work to do to maintain principles of our democratic (small d) Constitutional republic.  Several items to challenge—*We need the integrity of ranked-choice voting so voters won’t feel compelled to “hold your nose and vote”*Censored debates must be stopped.  The Democratic/Republican duopoly pretends to legitimate debates in what is nothing other than another campaign show.  Independent debates run by uninterested sponsors such as The League of Women Voters, must be restored.  (Access www.debates.org to understand the extent of duopoly control).  The so-called Debate Commission is a corporation to promote the Democratic corporation and Republican corporation, not to inform We The People*Challenge and stop gerrymandering that is a trick especially of the Republican branch of the duopoly.*Stop voter suppression by political Parties, and especially confront and stop Party suppression, which is the over-arching approach to voter suppression.  Party suppression seems to have been the responsibility of the Democratic corporation*Promote by law ranked-choice voting, so we won’t be told again, by D&R duopoly, to “hold your nose and vote”
If these issues are handled, our next elections can be honorable. 
*******************************************************************https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx—-Political Party affiliation of voters.