Spectacles: How did Companies get Bigger than Countries?

 I found this video on Sunday, and before that I saw the collab with Mr. Beat. Well both videos are actually collabs, however, the Mr. Beat video will be shared here at a later time.

[VIDEO] The above video (duration 32 mins.) from the YouTube channel Spectacles talks about the parallels between the 1890s to the 2020s. The comparison between the business trusts of the late 19th to early 20th century to the multinational corporations of today.

When we talk about trusts think about for example Standard Oil - owned by John D. Rockefeller - which owned pretroleum production. That's not the only company or sector we need to be concerned about in this discussion, however, for the United States in the 19th & 20th century it's when a company or an industry grows larger than a state gov't and the federal gov't is enjoined from regulating large business interests.

In the 21st century, corporations are beginning to become bigger than national gov'ts. If one wants to regulate these corporations they have the option to moving to a more favorable environment.

And another issue that's being argued here in both time periods, the inequities become pronounced for workers & consumers.

Mr. Beat: The Food & Drug Administration Explained

 

[VIDEO] The emergency authorization for those three coronavirus vaccines we've been hearing about  -or at least seen our fb friends showing off their cards for receiving their shots - is courtesy of the agency we commonly know as the FDA. So Mr. Beat explains the history of this agency and how it came into being.

When we go to our local pharmacist or drug store we generally have an idea of what we're ingesting especially as far as over the counter meds that we might take for say the common cold or flu. In our history that wasn't always true, perhaps our pharmacists were actually running apothecaries - and I'm guessing that's a new term for you and you didn't hear that from Mr. Beat. The apothecary basically created the medications that you might use.

Of course the 19th century had so many concoctions dedicated to your well-being that since there were no serious regulation of such products there was a possibility that they might actually be harmful. And that's what the organization that evolved to become the FDA was designed to do. It was a bit of a long drawn out process to ensure that what the public consumes especially medication is considered safe for us to use.

And just think the organization we now know as the FDA was actually created in the 1920s. Before that it was the federal Dept. of Agriculture that tried to regulate primarily food grown and raised in America.

Are you glad there is better regulation of food and drugs? Certainly are you glad there are regulations on what a doctor can prescribe to their patients?