My left wing idea is that the government should be much more aggressive in preventing his sort of consolidation. Every industry is like the same handful of companies, with numerous “brands.” (These particular brands are all already owned by a single entity.)
I’ve got an “Amana” heat pump. It’s really a Daikin, and is part for part compatible with Goodman, also owned by Diakin. But all the brands are sold to customers to create the illusion of choice. Maybe we could at least have a “real name” policy for companies and products.
Careful - it isn't clear that consolidation is bad. There is only a small market for this type of gear and less competitors can mean that the ones left actually have the money to design/build something good.
My left wing idea is prohibition of preferential pricing after a certain size to mitigate monopoly leverage. If you have say 20% of a market for chips, eggs, or whatever and more than a billion in revenue, then you have to set the same price anyone can buy at.
I’ve got an “Amana” heat pump. It’s really a Daikin, and is part for part compatible with Goodman, also owned by Diakin. But all the brands are sold to customers to create the illusion of choice. Maybe we could at least have a “real name” policy for companies and products.