e27: Let Me Fix My Tractor!

Monopolies Killed My Hometown

e27: Apologies on this delayed episode. I was on holiday and didn't get this pulled together before I went away. This episode we're back to the Royal Commission on Price Spreads and their analysis of the Agricultural Implement Industry - basically, tractors, combines, and other farming equipment. Unsurprisingly, the Commission found there was only 3 major equipment dealers and they were extracting excess profits out of the Farmer's. This either drove up food costs or drove farms out of business.

I argue that manufacturers are extracting excess profits out of farmers today. One way is by not allowing farmers to fix their own equipment. Did you know that a farmer can break copyright law by fixing their own tractor? Weird, huh? This also applies to the rest of us when we try to fix cars, cell phones, tvs, appliances and other consumer items. These excess profits eventually end up being paid by us at the grocery store. The 'Right-to-Repair' movement is pushing hard to fix this and let farmers and people fix their own equipment and goods.

Links from this episode:

• Farmers seeking 'right to repair' rules to fix their own tractors gain White House ally
• Farmers need right to repair their own equipment
• John Deere commits to letting farmers repair their own equipment (kind of)
• We Cant's Let John Deere Destroy the Concept of Ownership
• Here's One Reason US Military Can't Repair Its Own Equipment
• Learn About Right to Repair - ISED and the Competition Bureau
• Canadian Equipment Dealers Asked to be Exempt from Right to Repair