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Notes -
Lets discuss what sort of 'economic data' would capture the phenomena we're talking about. What is an economic term for 'enshittification' or whatever phenomena, and what metrics capture it? Consumer sentiment?
Of course, my point that "public companies will happily capture consumer surplus to maximize profits" is fairly standard economic logic, since private companies can have much larger time horizons and consider costumer retention through brand reputation and 'fair' pricing a more important factor. Similar incentive issues as public companies exist with Private Equity.
Thing is, I can probably point out a solid few dozen companies that are notorious for producing high-quality products or services in a particular niche, at reasonable prices, and are beloved specifically because they don't treat customers like cattle to be milked dry at every transaction.
One that I often come back to:
The Arizona Iced Tea company.
Privately owned by the same dude/family for 30-something years, and they have resisted raising the price above 99 cents a can despite the beverage industry as a class exploding in size and revenue.
Read that story about the owner and it is clear that its his personal philosophy that's holding the competitive pressures at bay, less so than pure economic sense. And they obviously don't have 'market dominance' so casting monopoly accusations at them would be absurd. The owner is, like Gabe, focused on keeping the quality of the product high, responding to consumer demands, and avoiding abrupt price hikes.
Obviously this guy could sell out to PepsiCo TOMORROW if he wanted, but his willingness to just... not, is only possible because he has no shareholders to appease. And a multi-billion dollar net worth.
And every time one of those drinks sells for a Dollar to somebody who would have paid $2 for it, that's $1 of consumer surplus in the buyer's pocket.
Some other similar companies:
Chik-Fil-A. with their NOTORIOUSLY amazing service and high quality.
In-N-out Burger.
Yeungling Brewing. A favorite of mine.
Canva. (compare to fucking adobe.)
Wawa. (compare to 7/11)
Buc-ees.
Craigslist.
Harbor Freight.
And many such companies that are primarily regional presences.
Note I'm not claiming such companies rarely/never take anti-consumer actions, but more that they optimize for a higher quality/price ratio (they resist enshittification) than comparable public companies, and are able to resist the trends that public corporations follow to the customer's detriment.
And I'm claiming that any of the above-named companies, if they went public, would rapidly see the introduction of more consumer-unfriendly practices and rising prices/slashing of quality to quickly squeeze out more profitability.
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