Alarming article in the New York Times:
βThe next six months could witness one of the biggest consolidations of corporate power in the United States in almost a century, yet a variety of legal and economic factors may leave the federal government unable to stop it.
The essence of the problem is that during the extended economic crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic, many large companies β and especially their stock market values β have been growing rapidly while their small business competitors have faced something of an apocalypse. More than 400,000 small businesseshave already closed and millions more are at risk.β
The danger inherent in this change extends far beyond the economic impact on ordinary Americans. Independent, small businesses have the freedom to refuse to enforce or implement ridiculous and totalitarian corporate rules as a requirement for employment. Large corporations, such as Walmart, Amazon, and the like, do not have that freedom. They are beholden to power, and will be more than willing to make adherence to authoritarian rules a condition of employment. This nation is fast becoming a corporate serfdom, where multinational, multi-billion dollar employers implement and enforce a fascist conformity far quicker and far more all-encompassing than a government could ever do.