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FEATURED: Airline Anti-Monopoly Fight Hits Mach 10 Speeds
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Standing up for passengers, workers, and communities across the country — and echoing arguments [[link removed]] from Economic Liberties’ aviation program — the DOJ Antitrust Division stepped in to block JetBlue’s anticompetitive and fare-raising acquisition of Spirit Airlines. But in a nearly unprecedented use of existing agency authority, the Department of Transportation flexed its atrophied muscles to support the DOJ’s challenge [[link removed]] . When asked to explain this bold shift, Secretary Buttigieg told CNN [[link removed]] that, “ this is a time to make sure there is more competition, not less competition,” and credited the President's related executive order. The challenge, which follows a similar lawsuit against JetBlue’s “Northeast Alliance” marketing deal with American Airlines, also found support from a growing [[link removed]] , coast-to-coast coalition of state attorneys general.
Pushing this sea change in thinking at a Senate Commerce Committee Hearing [[link removed]] , Senior Fellow William J. McGee testified that our concentrated airline system “has found us all lurching from crisis to crisis, meltdown to meltdown.” McGee’s analysis, which has been driving bipartisan demand for a new conversation about the state of the airline industry, proved central to the hearing, which also grappled with consumer concerns and regional inequality issues that McGee’spreviously helped expose in TIME [[link removed]] and the Financial Times [[link removed]] .
THE LATEST
Don’t Miss This ! Economic Liberties Hosts Inaugural Anti -M onopoly Summit : To celebrate our movement’s seismic wins, build, and chart a collective course forward, Economic Liberties is thrilled to be hosting [[link removed]] a marquee one-day conference on [[link removed]] May 4 in Washington, D.C [[link removed]] . Featured speakers will include Senator Amy Klobuchar, NEC Director Lael Brainard, FTC Chair Lina Khan, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, and prominent innovators like Sonos CEO Patrick Spence, along with a diverse array of small business owners, labor leaders, and thought leaders across the economy. Find out more information and register for the Anti-Monopoly Summit here [[link removed]] .
Rethink Trade Exposes Corporate Rigging In Trade Agreements: A bombshell new report "Loaded" [[link removed]] from Economic Liberties’ trade program revealed that a whopping 84% of US trade advisors represent corporate interests, while labor, academia, state interests are severely underrepresented. As noted in a deep-dive from The American Prospect [[link removed]] , that tilt in access could be why “trade policy going sideways when Biden leadership is so committed to something new.” Hammering home the consequences of this influence, Rethink Trade also released a study [[link removed]] examining [[link removed]] how Big Tech companies could use this lack of transparency to preempt federal laws aimed at reining in their power. Sen. Warren, Rep. Schakowsky, and Rep. Takano echoed these concerns to “call on the Biden administration to coordinate more closely with Congress,” as noted by POLITICO Morning Trade [[link removed]] .
Momentum Keeps Building at Antitrust Agencies: DOJ antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter and FTC Chair Khan are blocking anticompetitive merger deals at record pace [[link removed]] — with powerful executives and corporate lawyers taking notice [[link removed]] . But Kanter and Khan are not only stepping up merger enforcement. As Reuters [[link removed]] notes, Kanter “has become something of a magician,” filing major suits to break up Google’s ad tech monopoly [[link removed]] , crack down on corporate executives skirting the law [[link removed]] , and stand up for e-sports players at Activision [[link removed]] . At the FTC, Khan is making it easier for consumers to cancel recurring subscriptions [[link removed]] , ensuring cancer patients can access [[link removed]] the life-saving tests they need, and notching an important procedural win [[link removed]] its efforts to take on an e-prescription monopoly. Senior Counsel Katherine Van-Dyck helped break it down for NPR [[link removed]] , Chair Khan’s “methods are a threat” to those hoarding economic power.
Bailouts Debunk Myth that Banking is a Private Business: In the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank bailouts, Economic Liberties released a narrative-defining [[link removed]] policy brief [[link removed]] — covered first in The N [[link removed]] ew York Times [[link removed]] ’ [[link removed]] DealBook [[link removed]] — that offers concrete solutions to restructure the financial sector in the short- and long-term. Research Director Matt Stoller, whose perspective was widely [[link removed]] cited in bailout coverage, dug into the policymaking mistakes that got us here in a special edition of BIG [[link removed]] . widely [[link removed]] cited in bailout coverage — dug into the policymaking mistakes that got us here in a special edition of BIG [[link removed]] .
CFPB Shows How to Fight Corporate Abuse : At the CFPB, however, Director Rohit Chopra showed this week he’s keen to use the full extent of his existing authority to combat corporate abuse in financial markets. On Monday, the agency laid out a new, rigorous [[link removed]] framework [[link removed]] for interpreting “abusive conduct,” taking a crucial step toward fulfilling the original intent of the Dodd-Frank Act. In his remarks [[link removed]] to the University of California Irvine Law School unveiling this new policy statement, Chopra emphasized, "The only people who benefit from a lot of complexity are lawyers and lobbyists."
Corporate Power Legislation Floods State Capitols: Last September, Economic Liberties’ state & local team released three comprehensive policy toolkits for state and local lawmakers seeking to tackle the harms of Big Tech firms [[link removed]] , lax antitrust laws [[link removed]] , and the corporate subsidy machine [[link removed]] . Now, we’re seeing policymakers spring into action, implementing some of these key proposals across the country. Just in the past few months, we’ve seen a ban on restrictive noncompete agreements [[link removed]] and a budget increase [[link removed]] for antitrust enforcers move through the Minnesota legislature, the unanimous passage of a ban on secret deals [[link removed]] in the New York Senate, and an increase in antitrust law penalties [[link removed]] making it through the Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee. Groundbreaking bills have also been introduced in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and California. Economic Liberties have been busy right along along with state legislators, most recently swarming the New York state capitol [[link removed]] to urge the legislature to freeze useless corporate subsidy spending.
A New Era at Economic Liberties: In March, Economic Liberties welcomed [[link removed]] Faiz Shakir [[link removed]] , a battle-tested strategist with a tremendous track record building unique, grassroots coalitions, as our new, interim Executive Director. Together with Nidhi Hegde, Economic Liberties’ new Managing Director, Shakir will ensure Economic Liberties is able to continue seizing this critical moment to put tackling corporate power at the center of our nation’s economic agenda.
Special Treat — An Antimonopoly Agenda for the 118th Congress: Antimonopoly advocates in Congress have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rein in corporate power this session — and in a new, detailed agenda, Economic Liberties shows them how. Learn how your lawmakers can fight concentrated power across the entire economy here [[link removed]] .
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