La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

Competition is, overall, a good thing. It is what makes our sports interesting, drives our natural environment to constantly adapt and it is also what keeps private enterprise going. It pushes a business to innovate, keep prices competitive and keep customers happy. At the heart of this competition is a desire for a mutually beneficial exchange between individuals. On the other side of this coin are monopolies. Although prohibited by federal law, they do exist. Characterized by controlling a market to ensure their profitability and viability, monopolies build in their unfair advantage with...