Re: What First is missing.
 

I'll note that it has already been pointed out that FIRST is not a monopoly. Anyone who thinks they can create a better high school robotics competition is welcome to give it a shot.

There is no obvious direct competitor to FRC... which may be sufficient proof that FIRST is doing a good job of managing FRC, but Skills Canada, MATE, and a number of other competitions do exist.

That said, however, I'd like to point out that the assumption that competition is always better than a monopoly has gone unchallenged. In most cases -- as with VRC and (perhaps... we'll see...) VEX IQ -- competition has worked to provide the consumer with a better range of options.

There are many examples, however, where a regulated monopoly has proven to have social benefit. I'm most familiar with examples from Canadian history, such as the telephone and electrical systems. In return for a regulated monopoly, the crown corporations were tasked with providing electrical and communication services to all citizens, even in remote areas where a competitive system would have made the cost outrageous. While this resulted in higher costs for service in urban areas, the overall benefit to society exceeded that which would have developed under a free market system. Now that the goals of the regulated monopoly have been achieved, regulation is being reduced and competition has been/is being introduced.

It can also be convincingly argued that in areas such as health care, roads, and education that monopolies provide services more equitably and efficiently than free markets.

If the argument that teams in less populated, less technologically enriched, areas need more support is accepted, then perhaps a regulated monopoly is the ideal situation.

So maybe FRC needs to be a monopoly. :)

I don't seriously expect that to happen, but I do wish to challenge the notion that a free market is always the optimal solution.

Jason