nd local laws, is $7.25 per hour. And if an employee does not want to work in a certain industry, they still can change their job by learning something different. Education is much easier in the current time age than back then.
However, monopolies still affect the workers. Probably not as the same way back then, but still in their selling prices (and so, also if they can increase their wages, or leave it on the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour) and how they manipulate other businesses and their employees to increase their profit margins. “Monopoly power allows a company that has eaten up an entire industry to fix prices for consumers, driving them higher than they would be if other companies were able to compete in the same market and offer lower prices.” (Covert, 3). In the Gilded Age, the monopolies like Andrew Carnegie’s U.S. Steel or John D. Rockefeller’s Oil refinery etc. controlled the economics of United States. But also, today it is “impossible for employees to leave for a better-paying job elsewhere” (Covert, 3). Companies regulate their own prices, in favor of their profit. The main goal of almost every business person, is to get the highest most possible profit and win. Customers will prefer a company which offers the lowest price and will regard the high-price-companies.
Even though, most of the people would say, that monopolies do not have a big influence on the economic, as it was back then in the Gilded Age. Nevertheless, it still does affect the way how customers think or handle by regulating very cheap prices, manipulate smaller businesses and do not increasing the wages.
Monopolies in the Gilded Age brought many jobs to the nation’s citizen, but they also set the wage very low, why also labor unions were created. Some obdurate Politician took benefit on the monopolies to strengthen their campaigns for their presidential elections, like the one in 1896 between Democrat W. Bryan and Republican W. McKinley, which was won by the Republican because the employees/voters were dependent on their job which were given by the monopolies (in cooperation to the Republican McKinley). But also, today some companies keep their wages by the minimum of $7.25 an hour. They also beat small businesses down by keeping the selling prices as low as possible to make the buyer a favor on their own industry and so other businesses go down and their will become a monopoly. Although most of the people will say that the conditions are different now than back then in the 19th century, but monopolies still do have a big influence on other businesses, the economic and politics.
Back to Charles Darrow’s legendary board game “Monopoly”, it is really obvious how the rise of a monopoly can influence other players. Of course, this is the point of the game to get a monopoly, to leave the other players only one way, and to collect all the money by oneself. Indeed, it is only a game, but however this is also to find in the modern society and ancient history.
