{"id":2078570,"date":"2023-10-25T03:10:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T07:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/free-market-conservatives-should-ignore-bidens-antitrust-siren-song\/"},"modified":"2023-10-25T03:13:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T07:13:26","slug":"free-market-conservatives-should-ignore-bidens-antitrust-siren-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/free-market-conservatives-should-ignore-bidens-antitrust-siren-song\/","title":{"rendered":"Ignore Biden&#8217;s antitrust rhetoric, free-market conservatives."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffree-market-conservatives-should-ignore-bidens-antitrust-siren-song%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2078570&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reasonable conservatives and \u2062the Biden administration&#8217;s antitrust agenda<\/h2>\n<p>Reasonable conservatives can and \u200bdo disagree about a number of topics, such as the best approach to tax policy,\u2063 the \u200dright level of foreign aid, and whether the greatest president of the last century was Ronald Reagan or Calvin Coolidge (sorry, Teddy and\u200c Ike). In general, however, free-market conservatives believe in the rule of law and markets, rather than regulators, as the best path to satisfy the needs\u200b and wants of consumers \u200dand to cabin government within its proper, limited scope. Here at home, free-market conservatives also recognize that a vibrant and innovative American economy undergirds our prosperity and national security, particularly as a check on <a href=\"https:\/\/americanedgeproject.org\/seven-days-three-stories-on-chinas-whole-of-society-effort-to-beat-the-u-s-in-technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China\u2019s authoritarian and expansionist regime<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, a recent column in The Federalist by Aiden Buzzetti titled, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/10\/09\/why-free-market-conservatives-should-cheer-the-amazon-antitrust-suit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why Free-Market Conservatives Should Cheer the Amazon Antitrust Suit<\/a>,\u201d encourages free-market conservatives to support the Biden administration\u2019s antitrust agenda and, specifically, the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s\u200b recent lawsuit against Amazon.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-404575195\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-256d18fd4bdf3298c0ce34acc9cf1eda fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-256d18fd4bdf3298c0ce34acc9cf1eda\"><\/div>\n<p>I have news for \u200cfree-market conservatives: The Biden administration is not your friend. In \u2064sharp\u200c contrast to the \u200darguments laid out in this column, the administration supports discredited leftist ideas that allow government regulators to dictate the structures of markets and to punish \u200dlarge and successful companies because they are large and successful.<\/p>\n<p>In support of this \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/ftc_gov\/pdf\/Marxism%20and%20Critical%20Legal%20Studies%20Walk%20into%20the%20FTC%20Deconstructing%20the%20Worldview%20of%20the%20Neo-Brandeisians.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Neo-Brandeisian<\/a>\u201d philosophy, the FTC and the Department of Justice\u2019s Antitrust Division \u2063are seeking\u200b to afford themselves virtually unlimited power to micromanage the\u200b economy, to disregard decades of judicial precedent dating back to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Antitrust_Paradox\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Robert Bork<\/a>, and to pick the winners and losers in \u200bthe marketplace. In industry after industry, from defense to health care to semiconductors to tech, the administration\u2019s lawsuits and regulatory moves have damaged U.S. economic and security interests abroad and harmed consumers at home.<\/p>\n<p>To\u200d understand the flaws in Buzzetti\u2019s position, let\u2019s start with \u2064the \u200cproper role of government. In general, all conservatives support federalism and the principle that agencies should exercise only that <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/11\/02\/how-the-supreme-court-can-save-the-economy-from-the-ftcs-wrecking-ball\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">authority\u200d expressly granted by Congress<\/a>. Not this administration. \u200cFor instance, citing a broad statute that prohibits \u201cunfair methods of competition,\u201d the FTC \u200dhas asserted that it can \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/ftc_gov\/pdf\/P221202Section5PolicyWilsonDissentStmt.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">condemn essentially any \u200dbusiness conduct it finds\u2063 distasteful<\/a>\u201d without any showing of harm to\u200d consumers, anticompetitive intent, or market power. The FTC is suing Amazon under this theory, among \u2062others, and if it prevails, the FTC could gain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/finance\/antitrust\/the-ftcs-section-5-policy-statement-effectively-declares-competition-illegal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vast new authority<\/a> over the economy.<\/p>\n<p>Although \u2062Buzzetti correctly notes that \u201cconservatives are \u200dright to be wary of efforts on the left to weaponize antitrust,\u201d his column fails to recognize that an expansion of discretionary governmental power would create new\u200d opportunities\u2063 for just such abuse.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Technocrat Attacks<\/h2>\n<p>Perhaps even more aggressively, the FTC has proposed a <a href=\"https:\/\/laweconcenter.org\/resources\/comments-of-ftc-alumni-noncompete-clause-rulemaking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rule that would ban noncompete\u2062 clauses<\/a> around the nation. An\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearmarkets.com\/2023\/02\/16\/ftcs_non-compete_ban_ignores_constitution_881993.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unprecedented power grab<\/a>, the FTC\u2019s proposal would overturn laws in 47 states and effectively reverse hundreds of years \u2064of court cases that have upheld reasonable noncompetes. Noncompetes raise a number \u2064of legal and policy \u2062choices; even the FTC itself <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/ftc_gov\/pdf\/p201000noncompetenprm.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">acknowledges<\/a> studies finding that \u201cnon-compete clauses increase employee training and other forms of \u200dinvestment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, three FTC commissioners \u2014 or, as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/ftc_gov\/pdf\/p201000noncompetewilsondissent.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dissenting<\/a> commissioner put it, \u201cthree unelected technocrats\u201d \u2014 voted to impose a sweeping rule to rebuke principles of federalism and to invalidate tens of\u2064 millions of contracts across the country.<\/p>\n<p>The antitrust agencies\u200b also disrespect the norms of governance. For certain officials, the ends justify the means. Although Buzzetti asserts that the FTC\u2019s leadership has \u201cput the need for strong law enforcement above personal bias,\u201d in just a few years, the FTC\u2019s leadership has: <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bloomberglaw.com\/tech-and-telecom-law\/ftc-rejected-ethics-advice-for-khan-recusal-on-meta-case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disregarded ethics advice<\/a> and then <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/4072736-gop-chairs-accuse-ftcs-khan-of-misleading-congress-over-ethical-failure-in-meta-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dissembled before Congress<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/2023-05-31-jdj-to-ftc-re-records-retention.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">destroyed documents<\/a> related to its noncompete rule-making; used unpaid\u200c experts and consultants in ways that the FTC\u2019s own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/technology\/u-s-chamber-letter-on-ftc-oversight\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inspector general<\/a> found problematic; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/assets\/documents\/230216_FTC-Oversight_Sen.-CST-House-EC.pdf?utm_source=sfmc&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=%25%25__AdditionalEmailAttribute1%25%25&#038;utm_term=Comp_EO_March_Newsletter.html&#038;utm_content=3\/1\/2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">crushed staff morale<\/a>, with 28.8 percent of \u200bemployees <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CSWilsonFTC\/status\/1519786949476761601\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">questioning<\/a> the\u2064 \u201chonesty and \u2063integrity\u201d of\u2062 agency leaders.<\/p>\n<p>The FTC\u2019s chief\u200d economist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/02\/25\/ftcs-top-economist-resigned-amid-dispute-over-pharma-study-00011878\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resigned<\/a>, apparently in \u200cprotest over a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/ftc-chair-lina-khan-faces-ethics-complaint-over-alleged-bias\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">biased<\/a> health care study, while the last remaining Republican commissioner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/why-im-resigning-from-the-ftc-commissioner-ftc-lina-khan-regulation-rule-violation-antitrust-339f115d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resigned<\/a> over\u2062 leadership\u2019s \u201cdisregard for the rule of law and due process.\u201d A federal court recently questioned whether DOJ\u2019s leadership maintained an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/finance\/antitrust\/the-ftc-and-doj-are-violating-an-executive-order\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appearance of impartiality<\/a> in another tech lawsuit, against Google, and \u200can investigation has been requested into whether the agencies are complying\u200d with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2023\/oct\/11\/chamber-commerce-says-biden-administration-broke-r\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Executive Order<\/a> that \u2064encourages agencies to settle disputes. Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/jordan-advances-oversight-ftc-ethics-inquiry-and-transcribed-interviews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jim Jordan<\/a> and Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cruz.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/sen-cruz-blasts-ftc-for-colluding-with-eu-to-target-american-businesses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ted Cruz<\/a>, among others, have spotlighted these concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the governance issues, the\u200c antitrust agencies are undermining U.S. \u2063economic and security interests. The FTC and DOJ recently proposed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/finance\/antitrust\/u-s-chamber-resists-damaging-merger-proposals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new merging reporting form and new merger guidelines<\/a> that more than quadruple filing \u2062and compliance costs and that effectively reverse the longstanding bipartisan consensus that most mergers promote competition and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/assets\/documents\/NERA-Mergers-and-Innovation-Feb-2023.pdf\">innovation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Quickly Quell American Innovation<\/h2>\n<p>The new form and guidelines also would give the agencies far more discretion to block mergers based on amorphous, politicized criteria \u2014 criteria that any\u200b politician, even \u200cthe \u2063esteemed <a href=\"https:\/\/lawliberty.org\/book-review\/a-prairie-populist-rises-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Theodore \u2063Roosevelt<\/a>,\u2064 could use to protect friends and assail opponents (according to contemporary critics, President Roosevelt used antitrust in\u200c just such a manner). Already, one political operative, a former staffer for\u200c Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has attempted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/ftc_gov\/pdf\/bedoya_comm_combinedpdf.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">intimidate<\/a> an FTC\u2064 commissioner on\u2062 enforcement issues. Such a politicized regime would chill much of the dynamism that\u200c has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/europeans-poorer-inflation-economy-255eb629\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">separated America\u2019s economy<\/a> from Europe and much\u200b of Asia.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, this administration has brought numerous merger challenges \u200cthat are <a href=\"https:\/\/americanedgeproject.org\/the-ftc-is-hamstringing-health-care-innovation\/\">hampering \u200cinnovation<\/a> across the U.S.\u2062 economy based on speculative theories with\u2063 little or no grounding in precedent or economics, including sectors critical to our \u2064global competitiveness.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, the FTC continues\u200d to challenge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/tech\/microsofts-activision-deal-gets-green-light-from-uk-regulator-8ce659cb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft\u2019s acquisition of Activision<\/a> \u2014 a \u200d\u201cvertical merger\u201d between companies that operate in different markets \u2014 even though \u200dregulators in Europe\u2064 and the United Kingdom have signed off on \u200dthe deal. The FTC \u200cobjected to other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/finance\/antitrust\/the-ftcs-objection-to-microsoft-activision-merger-a-bridge-too-far-even-for-europe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vertical mergers<\/a> that would have strengthened the international competitiveness of U.S. companies in various markets, including chip design, rocket motors, \u200dthe metaverse, and cancer\u2063 treatments, again without evidence of harm to consumers.<\/p>\n<p>To date, the FTC and DOJ have lost all but one of their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/finance\/antitrust\/the-doj-keeps-losing-antitrust-cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">litigated merger challenges<\/a> in court, but the costs remain. Worst of all, in some instances, the agencies have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/federal-trade-commission-antitrust-europe-emails-foia-illumina-grail-acquisition-a78e03d0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">colluded with\u200b foreign governments<\/a> to block U.S. mergers and quite possibly sought to reduce procedural\u2062 protections for U.S. companies in the <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/release\/comer-probes-ftc-overstepping-authority-in-indo-pacific-trade-negotiations%EF%BF%BC\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Indo-Pacific<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The agencies\u2019 most \u200crecent tech \u200clawsuits also rest on\u2063 flawed premises.\u2062 Far from a monopoly, Amazon accounts for about <a href=\"https:\/\/laweconcenter.org\/geoff-manne-on-the-ftcs-amazon-lawsuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">5 percent<\/a> of domestic retail sales;\u200b one court has already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/amazon-wins-dismissal-of-d-c-antitrust-lawsuit-over-pricing-11647645389\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dismissed<\/a> another lawsuit that raised many of the same theories as the FTC\u2019s current suit. Similarly, DOJ is <a href=\"https:\/\/lawliberty.org\/google-gets-the-scalpel-not-the-sledgehammer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suing Google<\/a> for \u201cmonopolizing\u201d the search market even\u2063 though consumers can \u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/2023\/09\/15\/the-dojs-antitrust-lawsuit-against-google-is-a-loser-for-consumers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">change browsers<\/a> with little more than a click. Both lawsuits\u200c ignore the benefits of integrated, global American companies, which can offer consumers low prices (often at no out-of-pocket cost) and <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/technology\/3912246-we-must-sustain-americas-big-tech-engines-of-innovation\/\">invest<\/a> in advanced technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, neither lawsuit addresses conservative concerns about online speech, and, in fact, conservatives should worry about any proposal or lawsuit \u200dthat would further\u2062 empower the Biden administration. Instead of increasing the authority of federal regulators, as these lawsuits would, speech concerns are better addressed through proposals that would <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/release\/comer-mcmorris-rodgers-jordan-introduce-bill-to-stop-biden-administration-from-pressuring-social-media-companies-to-censor-americans\/\">limit\u200c the\u2063 ability of regulators<\/a> to use \u200btheir authority to influence or promote censorship or to pressure social media companies to censor speech. The FTC and DOJ should prevail \u2063only if they prove that Amazon and Google\u2019s business practices are harming <em>consumers<\/em> \u2014 a\u2063 possibility that, given the agencies\u2019 track record\u200b in\u200b court, seems unlikely.<\/p>\n<p>In any event, these\u200c lawsuits raise fundamental \u2063questions about what it means to be a free-market conservative. Do free-market conservatives want to give administrative agencies more discretion, or less? D\u00ad\u00ad\u00ado they prefer a \u2063light regulatory touch, or European-style industrial policy? Should conservatives trust federalism and decades of judicial precedent, or the Biden administration\u2019s \u200bprogressive regulators?<\/p>\n<p>For free-market conservatives steeped in the tradition of Ronald Reagan, Friedrich Hayek, and Milton\u200d Friedman, the answers are obvious.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reasonable conservatives may differ on tax policy, foreign aid, and the top president. Yet, free-market conservatives generally uphold the rule of law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1492,"featured_media":2078571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2078570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2078570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1492"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2078570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2078570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2078571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2078570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2078570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2078570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}