Chillin'Competition

A well-inspired friend sent us a new version of yesterday’s Antitrust Parable. We liked it, so we post it:

The Kroes. The Kroes’ job was to catch as many fish as possible, and the bigger the better.  Every fish she caught she showed it off and was very proud. When she caught a really big fish the press would report in wonderment about Kroes’s great prowess. If another NCA got a bigger fish, she was embarrassed and immediately went after a fish that was even bigger. Smaller fishes she threw back because she wanted more fish.  She saw to it that there were plenty of places for fish to breed and plenty of sources of food for them. Anything that prevented the fish from thriving and multiplying she opposed, because she wanted more and bigger fish.

The Almunia. The Almunia hated cases and wanted only to protect the business.  He did not want to catch cases, but caught any he discovered.  But he also encouraged staff to scare away cases [settlement?].  He sealed up the holes where cases could hide. He looked for any technique anywhere that would scare away cases [press releases, speeches, RFI…].  If something worked against having cases, he used it. If he caught a case he apologized to the townspeople because one had gotten through.  He did everything he could so there would be no cases now or in the future. He wanted to protect the grain for the townspeople.