Hello, Dr. Keith Smith with you on behalf of the Free Market Medical Association (FMMA). Thank you for joining me once again.

I’ve said on this blog before that my good friend Jim Epstein once told me how he found a great, juicy story for Reason Magazine. He looked for business consolidation, as that is not the natural order of things. The natural order of things is for new competitors to enter the marketplace. To see consolidation means the hand of government corruption and bribery is typically involved.

One lie that people believe is that free markets are inadequately regulated in the extent to which we are abused by certain companies is because THEY are not adequately regulated. I think many people believe that this is the case in health care, that what is lacking is more federal oversight of these companies.

For those of you all who believe this, I could make a compelling case on my own that this is a lie many of you believe. I don’t have to though. This book: In Restraint of Trade by Butler Shaffer (subtitled: The business against competition) is a painstakingly researched proof that exactly the opposite of the lie many of you believe, is indeed, the case.

Regulations that are meant ostensibly to restrain many businesses are authored by those same businesses with the idea of keeping competitors out of the marketplace. Regulations that only the “big boys” can tolerate. Every time you hear someone say that we need more federal regulations or that the free market is a disaster because it will be un-regulated, keep in mind that those who are sitting at the table in the expensive suits, writing the regulations are the businesses that will benefit from these regulations. The regulations that are ostensibly met to restrain them.

Check out Butler Shaffer’s book, In Restraint of Trade. It is an incredibly well-researched, well-written book.

Thank you, we’ll see you next time.