short responses, only analyze 1-2 details within

answer separately

Critique/agree with valid points

Prompt Used for responses (DON'T RESPOND TO PROMPT): When we consider monopolies, it is interesting to note that in the long run, most perceived monopolies do have to compete with other monopolies. That is, if my electric company is bad, I can move to another electric company's zone. consider the short run where it may not be an option to simply move to an area served by another company. For this discussion, your task is to:

• Think of a monopoly that is prevalent in your lifeand identify whether it is a natural or legal monopoly
• Describe some benefits of your monopoly being a monopoly for the consumer
• Explain some drawbacks of your monopoly being a monopoly for the consumer

1. A monopoly that is prevalent in my life, and nearly everyone living in the United States, is the U.S. Postal service. The U.S. postal service is a legal monopoly; meaning it is controlled by the government and they control its activities, rates, and policies. Only the U.S. Postal service is allowed to deliver mail to mailboxes since they are considered government property. One of the advantages of the U.S. postal system is that they are able to offer great prices for their services, even when compared to other shipping. The other advantage of the U.S. postal system is that it is able to get to remote locations. It is the only shipping service that is able to reach these locations effectively, and other shipping companies use USPS routes and infrastructure. If the postal system was not controlled by the government, other companies may simply opt to not deliver to these locations because it cost too much. The disadvantage of the postal system being a monopoly is there is no competition for certain types of mail, and they have little incentive to improve quality or reduce costs for customers. It is also hard for the company to adapt to modern times and make changes because everything has to be approved by Congress and worked into the budget.
2. A monopoly that is prevalent in my life is the local electric company, Southern California Edison. This company has a natural monopoly through the creation of economies of scale. This means that as a firm's level of output increases, long-run average costs decrease. Some benefits to Southern California Edison being a monopoly include electricity always being available to consumers, nondiscriminatory power available to everyone, and government-regulated by California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The benefits of Southern California Edison being regulated by the CPUC and the FERC include providing consumers with safe, reliable energy at a reasonable cost. The drawbacks include the company's ability to charge higher prices for consumers, a decline in consumer surplus, and zero diversity of choice for consumers. The lack of variety of choice means that if an issue comes up that ends up being unresolved or a customer lodges complaints against the company that goes unanswered, then that customer cannot switch utility providers. Unfortunately, they are stuck with that single utility provider. In my personal opinion, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks as I prefer to have reliable and safe electricity over having multiple utility companies to choose from.