Mark Zuckerberg fairly obviously bought Instagram and WhatsApp to neutralize a perceived competitor. He isn’t doing that with TikTok, and the FTC’s monopolization trial is why.
antitrust
Posted inEconomic Policy
How the Trump Tariffs Assist Monopoly
Imposing market power on suppliers or seeking special exemptions from the president are not avenues available to small businesses.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
How Corporate Pardons Create Monopolies
Rocket wants to became the only mortgage company in America. The CFPB found its tactics to be illegal—until Donald Trump let the company off the hook.
Posted inPolitics
Can the Democrats Reclaim Economic Populism?
That challenge is key to winning back voters who deserted the Harris-Walz ticket in 2024. Some rank-and-file members are calling for something new.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Trump Tries to Fire Lina Khan’s Lieutenants at the FTC
Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya have been illegally terminated. It’s a bid to centralize executive power.
Posted inEconomic Policy
The Unusual Biden-Trump Continuity in One Area
On antitrust, Trump’s enforcers are challenging mergers and seeking breakups. What’s going on here?
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
Donald Trump and Elon Musk Own the Bird Flu Epidemic
Bird flu is rampaging among chickens and cattle, while Trump and Musk gut the agencies responsible for stopping it.
Posted inEconomic Policy
The New Antitrust Consensus
The Trump administration is maintaining the merger guidelines that Lina Khan co-authored, and big business is angry.
Posted inEconomic Policy
Yes, the Price of Eggs Matters
Consumer sentiment is falling off a cliff in the early Trump period.
Posted inPolitics
Corrupted Capitalism and Dithering Democrats
America needs a true opposition party.
