Predatory Pricing Essay

For many years, the American dream has been deteriorating for several reasons. Paul Krugman, author of “Confronting Inequality,” blames the “inequality of our income distribution.” He explains how and why the differences between wages of the poor and wealthy are a major conflict in today's society. Constance M. Ruzich and A. J. Grant, authors of “Predatory Lending and the Devouring of the American Dream,” argue that the downfall of the American dream has occurred because of predatory lending acts. According to the authors, predatory lending and inequality play a very significant role in the corruption of the American dream.

United States vs. Microsoft is one the largest, most controversial antitrust lawsuits in American history. Many claim the government is wrongly punishing Microsoft for being innovative and successful, arguing that Windows dominates the market because of the product’s popularity, not because of malpractice by the parent company. Others argue in favor of the government, claiming that Microsoft’s practices conflict with the free market ideal. There are many arguments for both sides of the lawsuit, but what the case really comes down to is this: does the government have the right to interfere in today’s marketplace? Or is Microsoft violating laws that are rightfully imposed by the government?

The most efficient way for consumers to get what they want is through the ‘market’, not the government, but businesses have more power than their customers. Some businesses can and will use abuse this power and cheat and steal from consumers to make money. Because of this, the government regulates the behaviour of businesses to have a market economy that functions properly. These laws mainly protect consumers against; misleading/deceptive representations, unconscionable conduct, unfair contracts, and unsafe goods and/or services. To protect consumers, different legal and non-legal approaches have been taken.

accused of overcharging consumers. Which federal law would have allowed the United States government to investigate this unfair method of competition?

Evaluate the view that, because price discrimination enables firms to make more profit, firms, but not consumers, benefit from price discrimination

The price ceiling is the maximum price a seller is allowed to charge for a product or service. An impact on society includes when the prices are so high of a product, that no one can buy it. A price floor is the lowest legal price a product or service can be sold at. When market price is at its lowest, it may still be too high for consumers to purchase products. Governments can intervene for any purpose, and they are the ones who set these price controls.

The U.S. government charged that Microsoft had violated antitrust law. Microsoft disagreed. Do you agree with the U.S. government, or with Microsoft? In answering this question, you may wish to address two issues. Was Microsoft a monopoly? Did it use its monopoly to compete unfairly against other companies?

As we are constantly exposed to mass media and popular culture in our modern society, the insidious nature of consumerism has allowed it to penetrate into every aspect of our lives, dictating our very beliefs, values and wants. Nearly every individual in our society subconsciously conforms to the shallow and superficial mindset that characterises our consumerist culture. This idea is highlighted by the following texts; the poem “Enter without so much as knocking” by Bruce Dawe, an extract from the sermon “The Religion of Consumerism” delivered by Peter House, the poem “Breakthrough” by Bruce Dawe, and the

The law of unfair terms in consumer contracts have experienced changes over the years, the most significant of which was the Consumer Rights Act which came into effect on October 1st 2015. However, before the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015), unfair terms in consumer contracts were covered under two pieces of legislation; the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977(UCTA 1977) and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCR 1999) . The UCTA 1977 and UTCCR 1999 provided liability for transactions occurring in the course of a business as well as business and consumer contracts. Both UCTA 1977 and UTCCR 1999 provided protection for consumers from terms in a contract so as to prevent them from being at a disadvantage for not read contractual terms and conditions. The UCTA 1977 defined a consumer under s.12 (1) (a); as a party dealing not in the course of a business and not holding himself to do so; while in s12 (1) (b) the other party is acting in the course of a business. The UTCCR’s definition was very narrow, Regulation 3 stated that a consumer must be a natural person that is not a legal person e.g. a company who contracts outside his business.

What is a monopoly? According to Webster's dictionary, a monopoly is "the exclusive control of a commodity or service in a given market.” Such power in the hands of a few is harmful to the public and individuals because it minimizes, if not eliminates normal competition in a given market and creates undesirable price controls. This, in turn, undermines individual enterprise and causes markets to crumble. In this paper, we will present several aspects of monopolies, including unfair competition, price control, and horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate mergers.

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness? Today, the argument can be made that happiness and consumerism are directly linked. It is fair to say that happiness is a relative term for different people. However, the obtaining of new and shiny things has become such a part of everyday life, that it provides happiness when people are purchasing something new, and causes sadness when no buying is taking place. For many, it seems to be a protective coating against the harsh realities of everyday stresses from a job, or family life.

1. Analyze the fast food industry from the point of view of perfect competition. Include the concepts of elasticity, utility, costs, and market structure to explain the prices charged by fast food retailers.

R. Preston McAfee, Price Discrimination, in 1 ISSUES IN COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY 465 (ABA Section of Antitrust Law 2008)

a) In a perfect competitive market, the sole determinant of pricing is the market demand and the supply curves. A demand curve refers to the total amount that consumers will pay for their products. The supply curve is the total amount that the producers can actually make to supply to the company at the price they can afford or are willing to pay. Another factor in a perfect competitive market structure is the equilibrium price which is basically when the supply of the market meets the market demand of the consumers. Anther unique feature of a perfect competition market is that it is a price taker. In essence, this means that the company doesn’t have any influence on the price. Again, this can only be caused through a market that has a large number of firms with identical products. (Samuelson and Marks, 2010).

Price had never been this low where a desktop costs only $499, whereas laptops are hovering around $1100. Yet do not forget the $500 Apple mini sub compact laptop or the Apple iBook laptop that sells for $650, and the stripped down $400 after rebate laptops companies like Gateway and eMachine are flooding the market with to make money on volume of sales instead of a high price margin. The problem is even if the price of PCs plummets the effect is not felt immediately, because people do not rush to change their PC despite the fact they are getting it cheaper, which means the PC turnover rate is low like most durable goods. That might be what is contributing to the declining of prices, as the assumption of the manufacturers might be that if the price goes low enough people might want to change their computer to avail themselves the latest add-ons. Even the add-ons themselves seem to have reached their zenith some time ago and the latest most alluring gadget that came into existence was CD/DVD RW and every reasonably priced desktop or laptop is equipped with it. However, it does not mean the makers of PCs are not coming up with new functionality, add-ons, and price reductions to woo buyers. The other recent addition was Wi Fi that got boost from the introduction of Intel 's Centrino mobile technology chip and it had added a lot to the mobility of laptops, which can access the Internet wherever hot spots are available. Other than that, the overall performance of PCs despite