Congratulations to the presumptive winner Joe Biden and everyone else who won their elections this week. It was an interesting election to say the least. As a reminder, as we process the results in our own personal ways, we need to remember that both parties are to blame for the runaway deficit and debt. As always, members of Congress and the President must work together to address the fiscal problems facing the government and the country. Elected officials must also pursue a light regulatory touch in order to allow companies and the country to continue to rebuild and rebound during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of the results, the only mandate is to get the country back on track, not start down a new path of reckless nationalism or socialism. TPA’s mission doesn’t change based on who’s in power. We are a non-partisan watchdog that will continue to call out both parties. We will continue to hold elected officials at every level of government accountable for their actions or inaction.

 
Antitrust Accountability Project Launch
 
The Democrats have been very vocal in their criticism of Big Tech companies such as Amazon. The Department of Justice under Joe Biden may be more aggressive in pursuing antitrust action against Amazon and other Big Tech companies. That would be a mistake because small businesses, consumers, and the economy are benefitting from companies like Amazon. In order to educate elected  (and non-elected) officials about the consumer harm of trying to break up these firms, TPA launched the Government Antitrust Accountability Project. Be sure the check the website on a regular basis as we highlight interviews from thought leaders and experts as well as small businesses that benefit from our current approach to competition policy as restrained by the consumer welfare standard.

Is Amazon too big? Think about last month as Americans decided between red and blue…or orange and black. This was a choice about online holiday shopping and the sales events that were held last month by Target, Walmart, Amazon, and undoubtedly many other retailers. In any given year, there isn’t anything particularly noteworthy to the average American consumer about retailers looking to juice sales headed into the holiday season. However, in the latest great example of Washington being totally out of touch, many politicians are acting like these sales events don’t exist, pushing policy changes that threaten to upend the retail sector to consumers’ detriment going forward.  The most significant example of political meddling, and misunderstanding of competition, is the 450-page report released last month by House Judiciary Committee Democrats, of which a solid chunk is dedicated to arguing Amazon is a “monopoly” warranting antitrust action. Yet, Amazon’s famed “Prime Day” sales event was directly challenged by coinciding sales events at Target, Walmart, and others. Shoppers clicked back and forth between multiple tabs on their browsers, seeing which retailer offers the best deal on identical or competing products. That’s not how a monopoly works, even in the board game. You don’t land on Park Place and choose which of your friends or family playing the game you’d like to pay most.  Similarly, you typically won’t be approached by other players offering cheaper rent. Again, that’s not how Monopoly at the kitchen table nor a monopoly in the market works. The existence of Prime Day and the fact that other retailers find it advantageous to align their sales events with Amazon tell us loudly and clearly that the retail market is indeed quite competitive with large corresponding benefits flowing to consumers. Applying special rules or scrutiny exclusively to target one firm at one end of the market (that is, Amazon and online retail) will harm consumers throughout the market. If this wasn’t the case, then Walmart and Target, predominantly brick-and-mortar brands, would have little interest in when Prime Day is, let alone align their own sales practices with the event.
 

VICTORY IN TEXAS! 

Last month, a resident of Lucas, Texas reached out to TPA about a ballot initiative that would authorize the city to issue nearly $20 million in general obligation bonds to fund the construction of the network. After a month of tireless work by the TPA staff and folks on the ground in Texas, the ballot initiative was defeated by a 60% to 40% margin.

This was an important issue for us because we have seen similar cities build these systems and fail at an alarming rate. Our report, GON With the Wind, found that municipal broadband projects rarely get the take rates promised by advisors like Magellan. Lucas was no different. Lucas is hardly a broadband desert. Both Spectrum and AT&T offer gig (or nearly gig) speeds and almost cover the entire city and Allen, which shares the same 75002 zip code. Despite this, city leaders began moving forward on the project following an October 2018 survey that received responses from only 5 percent of Lucas residents. Most of those surveyed said they then purchased internet speeds of less than 20 Megabits per second. Importantly, although the survey never asked if residents would pay more for higher speeds, the feasibility study conducted by Denver-based Magellan Advisors depends largely on residents doing exactly that. The city system would have to capture 55 percent of the nearly 2,500 residences in Lucas at a rate of $115 per month over 20 years just to break even. In fact, Magellan’s own examination of the market shows that although Suddenlink offers gigabit service at $59.95 for life for customers in Lucas, few pay for the service. It’s unrealistic to expect residents to pay nearly double that rate for a city broadband service when they aren’t now taking advantage of an affordable price for high-speed internet.

Based on existing service in Lucas and the financial estimates, there appeared to be no logical reason to build a taxpayer-financed broadband system in the community. The residents recognized this and shot down the proposition by a 60% to 40% margin. An amazing victory for Lucas, Texas taxpayers.
 
 
BLOGS:
Monday:  Sen. Rubio Can – and Must – Stand up for Victims of Socialism

Tuesday: Taxpayer Watchdog Urges Fiscal and Regulatory Restraint Regardless of Election Results

Thursday: VICTORY! Citizens Defeat Taxpayer-Funded Broadband in Lucas, Texas

Friday: Watchdog Launches Government Antitrust Accountability Project
 
MEDIA:
October 31, 2020: Reason quoted TPA in their piece, “Food Issues That Should've Been Front and Center in the 2020 Presidential Election.”

November 2, 2020:  WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about the economy and what to expect from the new President

November 3, 2020: Catalyst ran TPA’s op-ed, “Future of Democracy Depends on Postal Reform.”

November 3, 2020:  5CC (Adelaide, Australia) interviewed Tim Andrews about the US Election.
 
November 3, 2020:  Townhall.com ran TPA’s op-ed, “FCC is Smart to Move Forward on New 5.9 GHz Spectrum Rules to Boost Internet Connectivity.”

November 4, 2020: The Epoch Times quoted TPA in their piece, “Democrats and Republicans Criticize Pollsters’ Failures.”
 
November 5, 2020:  Issues & Insights ran TPA’s op-ed, “NASA Pushes Taxpayer-Funded Internet … On The Moon.”
 
November 5, 2020:  WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about mail in ballots.
 
November 5, 2020: Paul Murray Live (Sky News, Australia) interviewed Tim Andrews about implications for taxpayers from the US Election.
 
November 6, 2020:  I appeared on KRC 550AM Radio (Cincinnati, Ohio) to talk about the economy.

Have a great weekend, stay safe, and as always, thanks for your continued support.

Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org