Dear John,

Ever-increasing corporate mergers put our economy in danger of monopolization by just a few mega-companies.

New guidelines are needed to keep these dangers in check -- fortunately, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have proposed new rules to do just that.

Across industry after industry, whether it’s Ticketmaster and Live Nation consolidating control over live performances, Kroger and Albertsons dominating the grocery market, or colossal corporations like Amazon and Google scooping up every kind of operation in sight, when giant corporations merge, the loss of competition results in higher prices and fewer alternatives for consumers.

Now, the DOJ and FTC have proposed major new merger guidelines to protect consumers, workers, and small businesses from unfettered corporate greed. The new rules are great. A huge step forward in the fight against the consolidation of corporate power, but they may not be implemented without our help.

Corporations are doing whatever they can to stop these new protections from taking effect. That’s why we need to speak out for these guidelines by submitting an official comment of support to the DOJ and FTC today!

FTC Chair Lina Khan has emphasized how the new guidelines were created with input from workers in the fields of healthcare, farming, patient advocacy, and music, as well as small business entrepreneurs.

They gathered the perspectives of those most affected by growing corporate power, giving these FTC guidelines a grounding in the real-world dynamics between the big merging corporations and the creatives and small business owners who contribute to the ground-level dynamism of American markets.

Over at the DOJ, Attorney General Merrick Garland has emphasized how the updated guidelines respond to market realities to “enable the Justice Department to transparently and effectively protect the American people from the damage that anticompetitive mergers cause.”

Leadership like this, from federal agencies led by the Biden administration, is another great example of why elections matter -- and why who we elect matters. Under Trump, these agencies bent over backwards to help corporations defeat workers and communities, not help them. And we all know what he did to the DOJ.

Now, under the guidance of President Biden’s leadership team, real reforms that make a difference in our lives today, tomorrow, and for generations to come are being developed and implemented nationwide.

Put the big corporations on notice by signing and sending your message and show your support for the FTC and DOJ’s proposals to stop runaway corporate consolidation now.

It’s important that the judiciary take these new guidelines into account in making rulings concerning proposed mergers.

By updating the enforcement of antitrust guidelines, we will help counter the anti-competitive practices of merging corporations, such as price gouging, charging big hidden fees, unfair treatment of workers, union busting, and driving out small business competitors.

Thank you for enhancing the power of consumers over the greed of multibillion-dollar corporations!

In solidarity,

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action