The Economy

A good question:

So when did free trade” come to mean the US dictating to other countries whether they can have publicly-owned utilities?

Especially when such utilities are understood to be natural monopolies — “defined in economics as an industry where the fixed cost of the capital goods is so high that it is not profitable for a second firm to enter and compete”.

But nothing makes me madder than ongoing efforts to privatize the world’s water supply. Especially after such efforts led to a deadly cholera outbreak in South Africa, when people were forced to use dirty water rather than pay exorbitant prices (thanks to the Bechtel corporation).