How the Monopolies Will Fall

Thomas Jefferson and George Mason expressed hatred towards monopolies. They believed in the free world everyone should be given a chance to have their own success within any industry of their liking.

A few years ago I went to a major arts & crafts chain to pick up some painting supplies. There was a quirky but cool woman who seemed bizarrely out of place working there at the time. She was very friendly and talkative. She kept babbling about how she always wanted to have her own arts & crafts store but the only opportunity for her was to work at this major chain.

I used to work in the restaurant industry and one of my gigs was a waiter at an international restaurant chain. Our general manager was incredibly unhappy, he always talked about how he used to have his own restaurant right around the corner but when the chain he currently worked at opened up he lost half his business and couldn't afford to stay open anymore.

Now let's flash forward to more recently. One of my favorite shows is Shark Tank. I have seen every episode since it started. There is a resounding theme on the show with all the inventors/owners. They don't want to work for "corporate America." Perhaps you saw recently where all the workers of a major fast food chain decided to quit simultaneously leaving a sign on the door stating something along the lines of, "We are treated like slaves working for pennies and have all decided to quit so go find somewhere else to eat."

Who wants to work for corporate America? We all have dreams, that's what makes every human unique. Sure some of us get to reach those dreams but the majority of us are stuck in a rat race where the only real winners are the ones on top holding the cheese.

That is all going to change. Imagine a world without monopolies where everything you used to get from a big chain was supplied by your neighbors. Sure people would still work for bosses but (hopefully) they would be cooler, more attentive and pay better. Humanity would gain so much from this shift. People would be happier and creativity would flourish. Following your passion wouldn't have to be "scary."

In fact if you think about it, monopolies are just a middle man between us and our freedom. We can picket with signs and occupy wall street but it's up to us to stop supporting them. Find your local Mom & Pop shops to replace that need. By the time we rely on solar power maybe we will also be monopoly free.