Quote:
Originally Posted by Barcey
When prices suddenly jump by 400 to 600 percent it's a clear indication of a free market failure. It's not surprising because the library system is not a free market system, it's a government service funded (mostly) by taxpayers. I not only believe it's appropriate for the government to step in, I believe it's their responsibility to. They can't keep pretending the free market system will fix it.
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As you point out, the system is not a free market failure because when dealing with the libraries, it's not really a free market system.
In a free market, it is the job of the consumer (in this case, the libraries) to demand as much product they can for as little cost as they can. It is the job of the producer (in this case, the publishers) to demand as much money for as little product as possible. It is not a free market failure if one side or the other changes the terms and conditions of the deal. If you stop buying beef because it's become too expensive, that's not a free market failure. And if libraries stopped buying eBooks because the publishers are demanding too much money, it is also not a free market failure. But the very fact that libraries are and continue to buy eBooks at the prices publishers are demanding means that they must believe they are getting fair value for their purchase.
What you seem to think is that because the libraries are paying a price that is higher than the one you think they should, the government should insist that the publishers charge less. Which could very easily drive the publishers out of business, since no business does well when people who lack the skills to run a business attempt to use their threat of force (which is precisely how governments do anything) to run it. In any other situation, we'd call that thuggery, criminal behavior, or outright theft, but when the government does it, we call it "in the public's best interest."
There is no way a 400-600% rise indicates that the free market has failed. Especially when dealing with new products where companies have not yet established long-term buying habits and trends.