"The allegation that Gibson participated in any scheme to artificially inflate or fix prices is wholly without merit."
I disagree completely. I'd be shocked if Gibson
was not involved in any price-fixing for its products. It's just a matter of whether you can dig down deep enough to prove it. The way Gibson has reshaped its distribution in recent years certainly makes price control easier rather than harder.
With all due respect, Dave, saying that "the market place will take care of it", is a bit like saying that all lions will become vegetarian sooner or later because as more and more Zebras are eaten by them they will need to turn to grass as nutrition to survive. No. Individual lions starve to death if there are no zebras.
But the species as a group won't stop hunting them.
Price fixing is an inherent capitalist urge among dominant market players and it follows the law of evolution that within one species the members may fight and battle for food, territory and reproduction opportunities, but not eradicate themselves while doing so. That is why male lions have manes, not only because they turn the lionesses on,
but also because they protect against the paw attacks of competitors.
It is utterly sensible that chief market players do not want to waste resources by fighting battles they cannot win against each other. Price wars hurt every producer eventually and that the consumers get to pick up the bill disturbs companies about as much as the death of a zebra disturbs the zebra remains devouring lion.
"I'm really, really worried about all those poor zebras, but what can you do?"Capitalism-sceptic, "market forces"-denying rant over!
Comrade Uwe