The threat of MEGA everything

[angie_nrs]

Another thread got me thinking about this concept. There's several areas where this is a grave concern to me. I have rarely (if ever) seen where centralization has done any good. However, the downsides can be catastrophic. I'll share a few examples I can think of right off the top of my head.

I posted about a "mega" farm in the tax changes thread. My fears with this type of arrangement are several:

1) It eliminates small/independent farmers and businesses not only by putting talented workers out of a job, but losing that talent permanently since the trade won't be handed down to family members.
2) It concentrates too many resources (cows) in one place.
3) Disease/health becomes a grave concern as does isolation
4) Introduces the potential to have a huge impact on supply/demand prices along with food availability.
5) When the mega farm fails, nobody will be left to pick up the slack. Farms/animals/farmers with "know how" don't just come into existence overnight.
6) All prices will become subject to just a few entities.....just like monopolies do due to low competition.
7) It puts the resources in danger of terrorism b/c the impact would be felt by many, making the facility a juicy target.

I'd much rather have many small farms around. I grew up in areas where dairy farms were the norm and that has changed significantly in just a couple of decades. In addition, I think most of those farmers treated their animals with kindness and love. I've never been at a mega-farm but I highly doubt they much care about cow #1234 or can spot potential issues in their stock just by noticing small changes like local farmers do.

Another example would be sewer systems. There's a town that just went thru a whole fiasco about this issue. The township decided to spend millions to make a small vacation town all hook up to this system they created. The costs are now out of control, the maintenance has been endless, and when the system is down.......everyone's down! Why??? I'm sure the whole thing came about b/c someone in charge saw a way to make a lot of money. Now the whole township is paying for it. And guess what? There was nothing wrong with everyone having their own septic tanks before. And IF someone did have an issue, it was easy to figure out where the issue was coming from and make the owner fix and pay for it. As part of the process the township mandated that everyone get rid of their septic systems or face a steep penalty. So, now even if they wanted to go back to the way things were.....they can't. I'm so glad I don't live in that part of the state where this happened. But I do have friends that are affected by it. Needless to say, they are furious.

Now let's consider healthcare. Same basic concepts with the whole MEGA line of thinking. Where's the independent doctors? Thanks partly to O-care, they're gone! It's too complicated and expensive for an independent doctor to practice on their own, especially with all the regulations that O-care introduced. In my own area we have ONE independent office left in a 5 county area. I'm sure he's close to retirement so it's doubtful he'll be there much longer. He's already refused multiple offers to sell out. I could go ON and ON and ON about how our whole healthcare system is broken and WE are all going to pay for it in the form of very expensive and very crappy healthcare, but that's not really the point of this post. My choices in who I choose for my healthcare provider has narrowed significantly in the past several years. Locally, I no longer get to see a doctor....instead I get handed off to a PA or NP. So, I choose to travel 1.5 hours away and go elsewhere where I can see a doctor. I'm sure it won't be long before I no longer have that option.

Sorry all for the vent. I guess I'm just an independent, small minded (so to speak) person. I try to explain this point of view to some folks and they look at me like deer in headlights. Bigger ain't always better and in most cases it's just NOT! I really do think the whole MEGA mentality represents the downfall of what America used to be.

 

[Sentry18]

I agree, I don't like the idea of centralizing or supersizing. For me I equate it to a certain former president's plan for a national police force. Doing so provides a uniformed agency with consistent training, gear, etc. but then you lose all aspect of commonality and community. Some 22 year old officer/agent from Florida is not going to have the same relationship with his community if stationed in Montana, than a local Montana person is. When the powers that be say "Go confiscate guns" the local kid is way more likely to say "Nope". He also understands the local culture, values and norms. Whenever you centralize you lose that personal feel and you start being customer #4732819. A faceless entity next in line. And it's very easy to be dismissive or uncaring about a faceless entity. This is why I refuse to buy "online" insurance and have a local agent with authority. Someone I can go see face to face if need be. This is also why we bank at the local credit union instead of some big national bank. And why we use the local clinics and hospital instead of the super mega medical complex in the large city down the road from us.

 

[robin416]

About medical care, the issues there have been going on for many years. Costs are so high for medical equipment, insurance that it is no longer the cushy income for docs as it once was when considering how much it costs for the education to put the initials MD after your name. One of my hub's onco docs told him his income is the same as it was back in the 90's, that there has been little increase since then. Until some control is exerted over pricing for med equipment and drugs and whatever else involves the medical field what you describe is what we'll be left with.

 

[hiwall]

Same concept with the banks that are all "too big to fail."

 

[DrPrepper]

About medical care, the issues there have been going on for many years. Costs are so high for medical equipment, insurance that it is no longer the cushy income for docs as it once was when considering how much it costs for the education to put the initials MD after your name. One of my hub's onco docs told him his income is the same as it was back in the 90's, that there has been little increase since then. Until some control is exerted over pricing for med equipment and drugs and whatever else involves the medical field what you describe is what we'll be left with.

Robin,
We were seeing that in our community as well. We were loosing docs left and right because the younger docs were not making the money in independent practice that they needed to make in order to live. When docs leave, it leaves a hole in services available to patients, and hospitals with holes do not survive. When the nearest "big" hospital is almost 3 hours away (in Flagstaff), that puts a lot of inconvenience on the patient, and people forego getting care for anything but the most serious of conditions. To "fix" that, the hospital started employing physicians. That way, the docs still were able to maintain a practice, but the overhead was gone. The hospital picked up the expensive parts of the practice (rent, payroll for staff, marketing, training, etc.) and let the docs do what they were trained to do. This has been very successful for our community, in that we are now able to offer services we could not a few years ago. Yes, there is standardization in some areas- infection control, for one - but the docs practice within their beliefs- some heavy on naturopathy, some heavy on allopathy, etc., - and it seems to be working! We do use physician extenders (PAs and NPs), but patients do have choices in who they see. The mega hospitals with thousands of physicians are very impersonal, but in our case, with maybe 40 or 50 employed physicians, it works for our community.
Diana

 

[angie_nrs]

Good point Hiwall and the banks! You are so right...

Sentry - also great point with LEO's! I never really thought about it that way....but makes complete sense.

Robin - I've been told the exact same thing with the doctors as well. Many newbies won't even go into general practice b/c the money isn't there but all the stress and grunt work is. Well, who's gonna sign up for that? I certainly can't blame them. They want the big pay so they go into specialty fields. That's why the explosion of NP's and PA's.....they're taking up the slack. I think that is going to get worse before it gets better. In the very near future, I think the primary care provider will be the NP/PA and if it's something more serious, they'll hand you off to a specialist.

Diana - Same thing is happening here. There might be satellite offices fairly close, but the big facility is fairly far away. They all practice under the same umbrella. Only here, our umbrella sucks. You forgot the expense of malpractice insurance! You're right, the overhead of a small/independent practice are enormous. The new regulations only made things worse. "Someone" doesn't want small practices to exist. That makes me very nervous.....and sad.

I can see where we could easily take this thread down the rabbit hole of health care only, so I started another thread on that subject alone......it should be a lively debate.

 

[backlash]

Large centralized anything is not for the consumer.
It's for corporations to make money.
Want to know what a mega thing does to a town.
Look at the small towns that have a Walmart.
We have one here and downtown is almost empty.
Walmart has destroyed small town America.

 

[VenomJockey]

Mega-this, or Mega-that, it seems to me usually equates with "Megafailure" somewhere down the line. Particularly in agriculture and healthcare. I believe in both those areas, "smaller is better!!" Sentry's LEO point is well taken, and does make a difference.

 

[angie_nrs]

Mega-this, or Mega-that, it seems to me usually equates with "Megafailure" somewhere down the line. Particularly in agriculture and healthcare. I believe in both those areas, "smaller is better!!" Sentry's LEO point is well taken, and does make a difference.

I agree, and yet many times local, state, and federal government encourage the Mega concept. The over-regulation of all industries adds to the Mega monster b/c small business can't conform to all the rules and regulations.....many of which don't enhance customer safety or make the playing field fair. It just seems to me like the more "mega" something becomes, the less personal responsibility there is in the mix. When things get big, the blame game ensues and nobody becomes accountable when something goes wrong.........yet, everyone is left with the mega problem, whatever that may be.

I don't know much about the monopoly laws, but it seems to me that these laws are not stopping the Mega monster from eating America alive. That's one reason I try and support small business and local farmers whenever possible. I also use cash so as not to support the mega banks. I've always rooted for the underdog, but today it just feels like anti-mega is the underdog.

 

[Flight]

Another form of population control.

 

[The Innkeeper]

Trust me ... big corporations are good for you ... just like big government. You don’t need entrepreneurs to siphon wealth (oops.. create wealth) ... those that don’t fit as cogs in our machines can have the government look after them... after all that is free money ... hey kid don’t look behind that curtain ... ignore the kid ... trust me

 

[VenomJockey]

Trust me ... big corporations are good for you ... just like big government. You don’t need entrepreneurs to siphon wealth (oops.. create wealth) ... those that don’t fit as cogs in our machines can have the government look after them... after all that is free money ... hey kid don’t look behind that curtain ... ignore the kid ... trust me

That about sums it up...good post!!

 

[CrackbottomLouis]

But...but...having a society full of independent, self sufficient, prosperous business owners is contrary to our goals. No. We must pass a massive amount of regulations designed to kill small business and force them all into large corporations that give us money through lobbyists in return for wiping out their competition and are amenable to a top down power structure and an incestuous relationship with us the gov because the people are too stupid to know what's good for them or society and need our benevolent guidance that we can also benefit from!!!! Think of the children!!!

 

[Amish Heart]

They are thinking of the children! You know, it takes an entire village to raise one.
Probably a lot of video games, too.

 

[masterspark]

 

[Alwaysready]

And when Mega fails those at the top will become overlords to the masses. For our own good of course

 

[The Innkeeper]

There is more than one way to create or steal an empire and enslaving the people. This is so much more civilized than force of arms, or at least lessens resistance when force of arms are required later.

We are already in a well surveilled society. We are raising a nation of quislings and rats. The programs might address a real need ... but
Crime Stoppers pays if your information leads to a conviction
Report all poachers has been upgrade to all poachers and polluters
The city I lived in last has a phone number you could call if you saw someone idling their car for more than 10 minutes.

I am not in favour of crime, poaching, polluting or smog but the underlying principal of rat out your neighbour has huge implications. Just my nickels worth

 

[VenomJockey]

There is more than one way to create or steal an empire and enslaving the people. This is so much more civilized than force of arms, or at least lessens resistance when force of arms are required later.

We are already in a well surveilled society. We are raising a nation of quislings and rats. The programs might address a real need ... but
Crime Stoppers pays if your information leads to a conviction
Report all poachers has been upgrade to all poachers and polluters
The city I lived in last has a phone number you could call if you saw someone idling their car for more than 10 minutes.

I am not in favour of crime, poaching, polluting or smog but the underlying principal of rat out your neighbour has huge implications. Just my nickels worth

Ever read "1984?" Or "Soylent Green", or "Westworld?"

 

[VenomJockey]

And when Mega fails those at the top will become overlords to the masses. For our own good of course

Well, yeah, they have to direct and manage the Mega-Fix!!

 

[angie_nrs]

Well, yeah, they have to direct and manage the Mega-Fix!!

SPOT ON!!!!

Many times the "fix" wastes more money than the creation of the problem to begin with.

 

[The Innkeeper]

Ever read "1984?" Or "Soylent Green", or "Westworld?"

all of the above and many more. Fiction often foreshadows reality

 

[angie_nrs]

Another form of population control.

I would agree!

So now this small town I mentioned before has the sewer in place.....they can't afford it due to cost overruns, maintenance issues, etc. Well, duh! They've gone and fixed a problem that wasn't even there. But they sure have a big problem now. Bravo! Most of us standing outside and looking in could easily see this coming. Yet those who pushed for the system are shocked and "disheartened" at how this could happen.

I also wondered about towns that have water systems. What if you don't want flouride (or whatever) in your water but have no choice in the matter? I'm sure this happens in cities all the time. Even if you use bottled water, the skin absorbs particles from the environment. I'd be very uncomfortable living like that. And then there's even worse than flouride, like lead. Flint, anyone? Clearly, I'm not, nor could I ever be, a city girl!

I was listening to farm report yesterday and they were talking about the large hog farms and discussing how they would have to dispose of the hogs if they had to destroy them due to some illness that is apparently present across the pond. They didn't come up with a viable solution on air, but agreed that it is something they should have a plan in place for. Well.....yeah. It seems to me the smaller farms would have a much easier time dealing with it than the mega hog houses. In addition, I think the smaller farms would be much quicker to spot an issue early on. Mega farms = Mega problems. You'd certainly think they would already have a disaster plan in place, no?

 

[The Lazy L]

...I also wondered about towns that have water systems. What if you don't want flouride (or whatever) in your water but have no choice in the matter?...

In my neck of the woods a property owner could not be force to connect to municipal Water. They could be force to connect to a sanitary sewer for "Community health" reasons.

 

[backlash]

In the Seattle area a small town put in a new sewer system and required every house to connect and pay a monthly fee.
One woman's house and lot would not allow it to be connected.
She was still required to pay the monthly fee, the city said it was her problem and they had to be paid or the city would eventually take her property.
She even lost in court.

 

[VoorTrekker]

This (OP) is all by design to eliminate individuality and our national and personal sovereignty. They got rid of smaller and family farms, family physicians and house calls, next is red flagging everyone over pretexts and then our cars. The Government will not require the "chips" but the banks and merchants will find a way to refuse cash and debits cards.

As for city hall and its cronies, I'm sure a joint effort by the neighborhoods can overturn that by getting rid of local political parties, both branches of the uni-party Party.
People have to fight back to win and they have to fight to win. Elect yourselves into local office and refuse to vote for whom <<they>> present to you.

 

[angie_nrs]

I thought this link fit nicely in this thread. There's a reason we feel the 'mega' everything effects. It's b/c a handful of companies own EVERYTHING! Here's a good article with even more eye opening videos. What makes me even more angry is that I can't invest in the stock market without investing in these mega corporations. Being well diversified in the market is an illusion as well. When Vanguard and Black Rock own everything and the same individuals call the shots (from food to banking to medicine to entertainment) you're not diversified. It's why they don't really care what happens in the market.....b/c they OWN everything. Yet, just another example of the illusion of choice. You hardly even have the choice of being in or out. You are IN. Either you are an investor or you are a consumer in one way, shape, or form......unless you are living in the sticks and purchase nothing.
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/...NwIDMIS-jEPlUUL5XNE2oBf_KJjCNDgcI9G0PcfgDD65I
You could probably spend hours on that site. But at least it would be more informative than watching MSM b/c you'll never see this information on MSM. This is a worldwide view that ties everything together nicely, even though it is frightening.

 

[backlash]

 

[Alaskajohn]

And it was amazing to see how quickly that big club turned on Trump in fears he would muck that club up.

 

[Supervisor42]

I thought this link fit nicely in this thread. There's a reason we feel the 'mega' everything effects. It's b/c a handful of companies own EVERYTHING! Here's a good article with even more eye opening videos. What makes me even more angry is that I can't invest in the stock market without investing in these mega corporations. Being well diversified in the market is an illusion as well. When Vanguard and Black Rock own everything and the same individuals call the shots (from food to banking to medicine to entertainment) you're not diversified. It's why they don't really care what happens in the market.....b/c they OWN everything. Yet, just another example of the illusion of choice. You hardly even have the choice of being in or out. You are IN. Either you are an investor or you are a consumer in one way, shape, or form......unless you are living in the sticks and purchase nothing.
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/...NwIDMIS-jEPlUUL5XNE2oBf_KJjCNDgcI9G0PcfgDD65I
You could probably spend hours on that site. But at least it would be more informative than watching MSM b/c you'll never see this information on MSM. This is a worldwide view that ties everything together nicely, even though it is frightening.

Buy stock in individual companies. I do.
I don't have any money in mutual funds, investment funds, etc, anymore. It's all in separate companies that I picked. I'm diversified.
Years ago, back in my 401K days, it was all in funds (yes, Vanguard and Black Rock too☹). No more.
It's crazy to give your money to someone who will take some of it, and give the rest to people who will take some of it, and gamble the rest on stocks of companies you hate.
You do know you can buy stock directly from many companies, cutting out all of the middlemen, right?
*Not investment advice, but pretty dang close.

 

[angie_nrs]

You do know you can buy stock directly from many companies, cutting out all of the middlemen, right?

Yes, I am aware and have done so. But if you look closely at the DOW or S&P or NASDAQ, you'll see the same players in the game, regardless if they are 'competitors' or not.

I have an advisor b/c we are busy making money and concentrating on other things. I know that if you don't watch your money someone else will. At the same time, that's not my primary area of expertise and I know it. I know budgeting and money management, but investing in the market is not my forte'. Our portfolio has grown nicely over the decades we have had it and we are on a first name basis with our advisor whom we've known for years. We also do individual investments...but they are not in the stock market. We are diversified b/c only a portion of our net worth is invested in the stock market. It just burns my butt that we are in the stock market and I know some of our money is invested with these swamp creatures.....doesn't matter if it's Coke or Pepsi.....or Ford or Chevy......it all goes to the same swamp! Otherwise known as the illusion of choice.