The Myth of Capitalism Monopolies and the Death of Competition

The Myth of Capitalism tells the story of how America has gone from an open, competitive marketplace to an economy where a few very powerful companies dominate key industries that affect our daily lives. Digital monopolies like Google, Facebook and Amazon act as gatekeepers to the digital world. Amazon is capturing almost all online shopping dollars. We have the illusion of choice, but for most critical decisions, we have only one or two companies, when it comes to high speed Internet, health insurance, medical care, mortgage title insurance, social networks, Internet searches, or even consumer goods like toothpaste. Every day, the average American transfers a little of their pay check to monopolists and oligopolists. The solution is vigorous anti-trust enforcement to return America to a period where competition created higher economic growth, more jobs, higher wages and a level playing field for all. The Myth of Capitalism is the story of industrial concentration, but it matters to everyone, because the stakes could not be higher. It tackles the big questions of: why is the US becoming a more unequal society, why is economic growth anemic despite trillions of dollars of federal debt and money printing, why the number of start-ups has declined, and why are workers losing out.

Jonathan Tepper is the Chief Investment Officer of Prevatt Capital. He is the founder of Variant Perception. Formerly, he was an analyst at SAC Capital and a Vice President on the proprietary trading desk at Bank of America. Jonathan is the author of Endgame, Code Red, and The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition. He is a Rhodes Scholar and graduated with highest honors in history and honors in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has an MLitt in modern history from the University of Oxford.

Denise Hearn is Head of Business Development at Variant Perception—a global macroeconomic research and investment strategy firm. She has managed a variety of projects on impact investing and sharing economies.

Introduction xiii

Chapter One: Where Buffett and Silicon Valley Billionaires Agree 1

Chapter Two: Dividing Up the Turf 21

Chapter Three: What Monopolies and King Kong Have in Common 35

Chapter Four: Squeezing the Worker 63

Chapter Five: Silicon Valley Throws Some Shade 87

Chapter Six: Toll Roads and Robber Barons 111

Chapter Seven: What Trusts and Nazis Had in Common 137

Chapter Eight: Regulation and Chemotherapy 167

Chapter Nine: Morganizing America 195

Chapter Ten: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle 211

Conclusion: Economic and Political Freedom 233

Notes 249

Acknowledgments 283

About the Authors 285

Index 287

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