18 March 2022

A Good Start

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representative Mondaire Jones (D-NY) have proposed a bill that would outlaw large mergers and grant authority to break up some of the larger deals that have already been done.

This is a very good idea, and it's good politics too, people who care about this issue are aggressively in favor of what used to be called, "Trust Busting," but too many people, who give too much protection money campaign donations, will almost certainly smoother this in its cradle:

Two Democratic lawmakers introduced a new bill on Wednesday that would institute a host of new regulations to scrutinize mergers, including a prohibition of those valued at more than $5 billion.

The Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act, sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), would also prevent mergers and acquisitions that would increase market share among sellers and buyers beyond certain thresholds and would give regulators additional tools to unwind mergers.

While the $5 billion threshold, indexed to inflation, may capture headlines, this bill is perhaps most notable because it attempts to limit companies’ dominance as an employer, too, by preventing any one firm from controlling more than 25 percent of a labor market.

“The recent rise in corporate consolidation has increased unemployment, suppressed wages, and allowed companies to hike up prices even further during this period of inflation,” Jones said.

I'd like to see it pass, but the bill is, to quote The Onion, a, "Beautiful Cinnamon Roll Too Good For This World, Too Pure."

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