Big Business and Small Business

I must have acquired a hatred of Big Business early in my life, and I probably got it from my father, who was a small businessman.

Small Business and Big Business are two different things, as plenty of people can tell you. But the two can coexist easily. If they don't, the economy is in big trouble.

In Ft. Madison, Iowa, where I grew up, the West End of the town was dominated by the Santa Fe Railroad, which was Big Business. But it was surrounded by many small businesses, such as Barber Shops (and Whorehouses).

This is also true in Software, where some very big companies (such as Google) dominate, but lots of small companies are very active. The Feds are trying to regulate this, but cannot, because they do not understand it.

I even see this in Costa Rica, where I now live. It has a public health service, with some large hospitals, that provide basic care at a low price. These are surrounded by clinics that provide advanced services,  such as Mammograms. The result is good care at affordable prices.