What happens when governments relinquish duty to protect markets from consolidation & citizens from exploitation?

I exchanged 10K USD two days ago in #Lithuania in Revolut (got 8 609 € back) & Swedbank LT (got 8 375 € back). Same day. €234 difference.

#RentSeeking & exploitation happens.

The Strait of Hormuz (2026)

A rare geographic chokepoint reveals a #system where #instability is extraction; geopolitical tension becomes revenue, feeding systems that convert risk into profit while costs are distributed across populations with no stake in the gain.

#StrangeAttractor #rentseeking

Original post on social.coop

As usual great work from both #7AM podcast [Solstice Media]

Beer, gas and capital gains tax
https://podcastaddict.com/7am/episode/218143647 via @PodcastAddict

and the Australia Institute

australiainstitute.org.au/report/tax-beer-drinkers...

As the father of both a […]

Original post on social.coop

"Copyright owners increasingly claim more draconian #copyright law and policy will fight back against big tech companies. In reality, copyright gives the most powerful companies even more control over creators and competitors. Today’s copyright policy concentrates power among a handful of […]

"There is abundant evidence that over the last 20 years, American firms have shifted from an innovation mindset to one that focuses more on rent seeking."

buff.ly/nBWI4EY #innovation #vs #rentseeking #classic

On the Yarvin Andreessen Musk Thiel Circle Jerk Man Boy All-In Cult youtu.be/u-fThWjJP8A?... #TechnoFascists #ExploitOligarchy #NetworkState #PublicEvil #ParasiticCapture #DestructionCapitalism #VentureCapitalCreditSystem #RentSeeking #Crypto #Ponzi #PredictionMarkets #PumpAndDump #Scammers

Glossary entry: financial capitalism When writing a post on comment in the Guardian this afternoon, I realised that my glossary entry on financial capital was insufficient to encompass the madness of financial capitalism, financialisatio...

"Financial capitalism

describes a form of capitalism in which the ownership, control, and accumulation of financial assets dominate economic decision-making, social priorities, and political power...."
#FinancialCapitalism #RentSeeking
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/12...

The River Will Provide youtu.be/5cM3bqbeIxw?... #DRM #OnePercentRule #ParticipationInequality #RentSeeking

Onko #rentseeking vastaisuus #progressivismi n tulevaisuus? 😊 #ansiotonarvonnousu

Despite decades of IT innovation and productivity growth, the retro Atari 2600 is more expensive today in inflation-adjusted terms than when my parents refused to buy it for me as a kid. OTOH, now it's Pac-Man yellow...

#rentseeking

And: the more coins you own, the more you can 'stake', the more fees you collect, the more coins you own, the more you can 'stake', the more fees you collect, etc etc. #rentseeking

Check this out! An article about the ‘Elite Quality Index 2025’ has been published in the South China Morning Post. Find out more➡️ tinyurl.com/5xtr59v3 #EliteQualityIndex #ValueCreation #RentSeeking #AnthemPress #newspaperarticle #GuidoCozzi #indiepublisher #media #EliteQualityIndex #EQx2025

Rent hike at St. Denis building rolled back after tenants’ union protest | News Following weeks of protest actions at 3801 St Denis St., representatives of the Montreal Autonomous Tenants’ Union have successfully negotiated a proposed rent hike of 19.2 per cent down to no increas...

Finally, some good news. Tenants need to organize & fight back when predatory housing profiteers aka "landlords" violate their rights & threaten their housing. Tenant's unions are a great place to start!

#Montreal #rentseeking #union

thelinknewspaper.ca/article/rent...

Breaking: Apple and Google lose landmark court case over anti-competitive conduct The federal court has today ruled against tech giants Apple and Google in a major win for consumers, finding that the companies engaged in anti-competitive conduct.

"[The federal Court] found Google and Apple breached section 46 of the competition and consumer act by misusing their market power to reduce competition but he rejected other allegations including that the companies had engaged in unconscionable conduct" www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08... #rentseeking

#Crypto has one ultimate use-case or application, also known as various names: #Corruption, #RentSeeking, or #Patrimonialism.

Much more important than forcing them to divest their peanut farms, as in the case of Jimmy Carter. #Corruption #RentSeeking #Patrimonialism

American Exceptionalism Meets Its Maker | by Barry Eichengreen - Project Syndicate Barry Eichengreen surveys the pillars of US economic dominance that the Trump administration has damaged, perhaps permanently.

“A #transactional #president has revealed the US to be a transactional society, where the highest returns accrue to #rentseeking & #cronyism, not to #initiative & #innovation. Sooner or later, #productivity growth will become a casualty” www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/t... Syndicate Newsletter

Synology could bring “certified drive” requirements to more NAS devices German press release suggests expansion of the company’s “integrated ecosystem.”…

I have a @synologyofficial.bsky.social NAS that I've been quite happy with. It isn't new and while I haven't seriously thought about replacing it since it still have space and still meets my needs when I do need to do so I'm not very likely to go with Synology again.
#nas #synology #rentseeking

Charging #GST on digital services consumed in Australia is fair. Consumers do not pay a higher GST for these imported products than for local ones, so there is no discrimination. This is rent-seeking behaviour that should not be given any air.
#FiscalPolicy #auspol #economics #CSR #RentSeeking

#rentseeking #monopoly

Mind you I'm not advocating for free software but the whole subscription based thing and the fact most big firms like Adobe, Microsoft and ESRI buy up all their competitors is a huge racket.

#BoycottAccuWeather and all companies that use #AccuWeather products like #Bloomberg and #Verizon.
#RentSeeking parasites one and all.

#BoycottAccuWeather and all companies that use #AccuWeather products like #Bloomberg and #Verizon.
#RentSeeking parasites one and all.

On #Freyr

#GoldenAgeOfFraud
#Greenwashing
#Rentseeking
#Tesla2
$TSLAQ

Bingo. Once you understand you are the peasant, then you decide what do about the Feudal lords in BigTech controlling your country, your mental health, etc. The Bay Area makes one product: rent seeking feudalism.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJYj...

#rentseeking