President Biden came into office with a plan to fix inflation — just not the particular inflationary problem that the country now faces. From the Associated Press.
His belief is that a cluster of companies control too many industries, which reduces competition for both customers and workers. That leads to higher prices and lower wages in what the White House says is an average cost of $5,000 annually for U.S. families. Biden is now trying to remedy the situation with 72 distinct initiatives — everything from new rules for cell phone repairs to regulations on meatpacking to more merger reviews.
“It will strangle economic growth,” said Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Ironically, what this will do is actually lead to more inflation.” New York University economist Thomas Philippon has welcomed the administration’s approach — while allowing it would do little to bring down prices. As the author of the 2019 book, “The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets,” Philippon is the source of the administration’s statement that market concentration places a $5,000 drag on an average family.
It cited studies that show how mergers led to higher prices for hospital services, health insurance, airline tickets and beer. It also documented a decline in government reviews of mergers and noted that the 2020 federal lawsuits against Google and, separately, Facebook were the first major monopolization cases in 22 years.
But many in the business sector dispute Biden’s core premise that the U.S. economy has become less competitive. They argue that mergers allow companies to operate more efficiently and the resulting gains in productivity benefit consumers.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Biden assures Ukraine president US will respond 'swiftly' to Russian aggressionPresident Joe Biden spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday to assure him the U.S. would respond to Russian aggression.
Read more »
President Biden warns Putin of ‘severe costs’ of Ukraine invasionThe two presidents spoke a day after Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, warned that U.S. intelligence shows a Russian invasion could begin within days and before the Winter Olympics in Beijing end on Feb. 20.
Read more »
Biden and Ukrainian President Zelensky to speak SundayPresident Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to speak later today, amid US warnings that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could happen as soon as this week.
Read more »
Biden Reassures Ukraine President That U.S. Would Respond to Russian InvasionAccording to a White House readout of the call, Biden and Zelensky “agreed on the importance of continuing to pursue diplomacy and deterrence in response to Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders”
Read more »