White House NEC Director Brian Deese Says Mergers Have Cost Families
The White House estimates that consolidation across industries means American households pay an extra $5,000 a year.
Bloomberg, July 19, 2021
You may have missed this Executive Order issued last week (I discussed it here). It was not the usual 1-pager/Photo Op; rather, it unveiled a major new policy initiative, including the formation of the President’s Council on Competitiveness.
Several decades of lax antitrust enforcement and industry concentration has led to excess market power that is quite expensive to the average American family.
How expensive?
“Industry consolidation and market concentration costs the average U.S. family about $5,000 per year, according to Brian Deese, the Director of the White House National Economic Council under President Joe Biden. Deese, the newly appointed Chairman of the President’s Council on Competitiveness created by Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, blames decades of lax anti-trust enforcement, a build-up of excessive regulations and increasing industry concentration for the rising costs to families.
The fallout from lessened competition has been stark: higher prices, lower wages and less innovation. To address these issues, the new competitiveness council will rely on existing legislative authority to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement, while taking a closer look at mergers and acquisitions that could lead to anti-competitive behavior, Deese explained in an interview.”
Check out the full column here.
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I originally published this at Bloomberg, July 19, 2021. All of my Bloomberg columns can be found here and here.
