Monopoly and Hedge Funds...

You'd think that people could learn something from the children's game, Monopoly. The economy generally grows with little help from anyone as life itself requires goods and services. In Monopoly we call this "passing Go."

Beyond Chance and Community Chest, everything else is a zero-sum game that leaves one person incredibly enriched and everyone else beggared. In a game, it doesn't really matter.

In real life...:

HIGH-RISK hedging strategies by AWB cost farmers $260 million in one year, the Export Wheat Commission has found.

The report’s release this morning came as more than 500 farmers began marching to Parliament House in Canberra protesting plans to abolish the single desk wheat export market.

In its report, the commission says the monopoly bulk grain exporter did not maximise returns to growers from its 2005-06 national pool.

The commission, an independent statutory authority established to control the export of wheat, raised concerns that losses from AWB's hedging strategy were borne by farmers alone while the company retained a portion of any gains.

The report noted that non-bulk wheat exports continued to increase with about 1.5 million exported in the eight months since non-bulk wheat deregulation to April 30 this year, compared with 550,000 tonnes exported during the same period in 2006-07.

The Rudd Government, with the support of the Liberal party, is proposing to deregulate the bulk wheat export market by opening it up to competition from July 1.

Legislation, due to be considered by the Senate today, is being opposed by The Nationals, the Liberal's coalition partner.

Farmers were this morning being led from old parliament house by a farmer playing the bagpipes.

Many of the farmers are carrying placards with messages for both the Government and the Liberals.

One placard read: “What's worse than weevils in wheat - rats in parliament.”

Stupid move, this. Unregulated capitalism leading to monopolies is never a win-win prospect. Especially when you stupidly create one by fiat. At least most competitive-originating monopolies had a superior product or service at one time. Even if they become entrenched and backwards as they fail to compete (as all monopolies eventually do).

No matter how many supply-siders and Libertarians lie to the contrary.