(V):

I think price fixing is a lot more common than the government or the business sector is willing to admit. It is not just energy but telephone, cable and cellular services. The prices are so similar that competition is basicly dead. The government turns a blind eye because it is politically and economically convenient, and private companies have greased enough hands to know that their cartels and monopolies are safe.

In some cases the government actually interferes with competition to save companies unable to compete. Here in North America car manufacturers get huge breaks from the government. Both the Canadian and American governments have imposed big tariffs against foreign auto makers to make sure that the local makers can compete. It is why European, Japanese and Korean cars are more expensive than American models. The government actually forms part of the price fixing and protectionistic schemes. In spite of that North American car makers have failed miserably and the governments here have given them money to keep them afloat.

Chinese, Indian and French car makers can't even sell their cars here. The government prohibits sale of those cars on "safety" concerns but the truth is that a $5000 car would spell the end of North American car makers. Canada makes an electrical car called the ZENN (Zero Emmisions No Noise, http://www.zenncars.com/). This is a fully electrical car. The Canadian government went so far as to protect the oil industry and the car makers by not allowing the sale of that vehicle in Canada. It has taken years of complaints from the public for the government here to allow the car to be sold.

If true competition existed, many companies would go under. In modern captalism competition is acceptable only when it is convenient tot he big monopolies and the elite that runs the capitalist system.