At now-President-elect Donald Trump's 2024 campaign rallies, attendees would hold "Trump Will Fix It" signs. Here's hoping the antitrust policy that President Joe Biden excessively politicized is one of those "its." Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, previously said he believes that Biden's appointee as chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Lina Khan, has done a good job with antitrust policy. I disagree.
For nearly 40 years, most antitrust scholars sensibly agreed that the government should base its treatment of potential corporate monopolization, mergers, and related issues on these actions' effect on "consumer welfare." This standard ensures that antitrust is used only to prevent businesses from undermining economic competition, preserving a market that drives prices down and product quality up on behalf of us consumers. Antitrust should not protect businesses from competition.
