US corporate margins just hit an all-time high while the typical worker's income slips below trend. The two are connected, and the reason isn't what most people think.
Please enlighten us on your thought process on how you arrived at this conclusion:
“In home insurance, the five biggest carriers now close almost half of all claims with zero payout, a dynamic fueled by less competition and more market concentration.”
The statistics from the regulators and industry groups alike soundly dispute this assertion.
Only 5 of the big insurers are documented reflecting the almost 50 percent no payout.
The structure is oligopolistic at the top, with the five WSJ-investigated companies controlling nearly half the market — which makes their 44% zero-payout rate a systemic issue, not an outlier problem.
The biggest ripoff, however, is denying hurricane coverage due to flood damage. What caused the flood damage? The hurricane.
Yes, I read it, but that article did not draw any relationship, either corollary or causal, between unpaid homeowners insurance claims and market concentration or lack of competition. The article did suggest a link between significantly higher policy deductibles, and standard policy language and denied claims. I generally agree with the gist of the article, but this small paragraph does not support the article’s assertion and is not factual.
By superstar firms you mean monopolies right? It's pretty obvious we're in this position because almost every sector has concentrated market power and the US government has done no antitrust. The politicians on both sides have do nothing but kowtow to the special interest groups representing these monopolies which is why we are where we are.
One thing I don’t understand on the chart of top 10 home builders… why is there a 15% gap between closings and completions? In a world where every house they build gets sold, closings would exactly equal completions. Is the chart showing that these home builders are sitting on huge inventory of unsold homes?
"There are many factors that have contributed to this multi-decade trend." None produce more for less for the consumer. A government of the people, by the people, for the people indeed.
I'm sure that rising corporate margins have nothing to do with an expanding (or exploding) government deficit. It's not like corporations are free to bribe congressmen to cut their tax burden.
Please enlighten us on your thought process on how you arrived at this conclusion:
“In home insurance, the five biggest carriers now close almost half of all claims with zero payout, a dynamic fueled by less competition and more market concentration.”
The statistics from the regulators and industry groups alike soundly dispute this assertion.
Only 5 of the big insurers are documented reflecting the almost 50 percent no payout.
The structure is oligopolistic at the top, with the five WSJ-investigated companies controlling nearly half the market — which makes their 44% zero-payout rate a systemic issue, not an outlier problem.
The biggest ripoff, however, is denying hurricane coverage due to flood damage. What caused the flood damage? The hurricane.
The Wall Street Journal had an article about the insurance industry payouts that compliments the author’s assertion.
Yes, I read it, but that article did not draw any relationship, either corollary or causal, between unpaid homeowners insurance claims and market concentration or lack of competition. The article did suggest a link between significantly higher policy deductibles, and standard policy language and denied claims. I generally agree with the gist of the article, but this small paragraph does not support the article’s assertion and is not factual.
By superstar firms you mean monopolies right? It's pretty obvious we're in this position because almost every sector has concentrated market power and the US government has done no antitrust. The politicians on both sides have do nothing but kowtow to the special interest groups representing these monopolies which is why we are where we are.
One thing I don’t understand on the chart of top 10 home builders… why is there a 15% gap between closings and completions? In a world where every house they build gets sold, closings would exactly equal completions. Is the chart showing that these home builders are sitting on huge inventory of unsold homes?
Yes.
"There are many factors that have contributed to this multi-decade trend." None produce more for less for the consumer. A government of the people, by the people, for the people indeed.
I'm sure that rising corporate margins have nothing to do with an expanding (or exploding) government deficit. It's not like corporations are free to bribe congressmen to cut their tax burden.