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And for fuck’s sake don’t raw dog your phone to convenient USB chargers in airplanes, airports, or other public spaces.

Yes the argument can be made that airplanes may enjoy slightly better chain-of-custody type security, but fr the number of people I see who dgaf plugging their junk into USB brothels is wild.

That’s so kind, thank you! I am studying economics and the discussion helped reinforce a lot of fundamental learning.

Reviewing the article, it describes Loblaw, Sobeys, and Metro as the “three largest” firms accounting for grocery conglomerates, which implies there are other firms in the grocery industry up there. Since there is more than one parent firm, this describes–at worst, an oligopoly. Oligopolies do exert control over prices by virtue of the few suppliers in the market, but their price-setting isn’t monopolistic.

To the first point you’ve mentioned, my argument is towards support of price-discrimination, and not monopolies. The article does indeed demonstrate third-degree price discrimination (same product, different store/market segment, different price), but I did not try to connect these two.

To the second point, the reason for there to be an oligopolistic market is the natural result of an industry that has the kinds of barriers-to-entry that a grocery store seems like it might have: the substantial investment required to purchase the initial inventory, the real estate, and the labor costs.

With respect to Canadian consumer protections, I have no input.

There are some arguments and scenarios which support price discrimination, OP’s article is a prime example. Price discrimination encourages firms to sell more output (at all levels), which enables more customers to purchase goods at each of their willingnesses-to-pay. The natural consequence is, yes, the producer captures more profit. This seems ideal if we are to accept the theory of a capitalist economy.

Monopolies do exert a great deal of control over price and therefore price discrimination to the detriment of the market, but reasonably competitive firms also have some influence over price in ways that are supplemental to the market.

Because of third-degree price discrimination (not discrimination with the negative connotation).

Yes! I didn’t know it was possible. I was on a sunrise walk a few days ago and the sun was coming through a thick haze and I could make out an object in the way of the sun. I thought it might be an airplane or a satellite, but it never moved. Then I thought it might be the planet Mercury, but when I looked it up, it was in the wrong place. Then I found a NASA sunspot tracker, and there it was.

That largest one in the Southern hemisphere is visible—with proper protective gear—to the naked eye, designated No 3363.

It’s approximately six Earths across.