MAIN STREET ALLIANCE REACTS TO FTC MERGER GUIDELINE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC – Main Street Alliance Executive Director Chanda Causer released the following statement on the draft of new merger guidelines published today by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
“Today is a victory for Main Street Businesses. For the past 50 years, leaders in both parties have ceded too much power to big business and large corporations. Allowing huge concentrations of power to form has badly hurt the competitiveness of Main Street businesses. We are excited to see this final release of the updated merger guidelines.”
“Due to this lack of strong oversight and enforcement of our antitrust laws in prior years, we have entered a second gilded age where big businesses are hurting our democracy by accumulating too much power in the marketplace. The result has been a displacing of the democratic process and the inability of the state to properly prioritize the needs of the people vs. the needs of the powerful.”
“Lina Khan’s leadership at the FTC and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter at the Department of Justice have been exemplary, as they support kind capitalism and create an equal playing field for true small businesses. The finalized merger guidelines released today are a strong step in the right direction to build an economy that works for everyone.”
Main Street Alliance has been at the forefront of shaping the public narrative around renewed antitrust law enforcement, including updates to merger guidelines. From members like Dionne Sims, owner of Black Garnet Books in St. Paul, MN, joining a Liberation in a Generation discussion about the impact of Amazon on her small business to Masani Barnwell, owner of Source of Knowledge bookstore in Newark, NJ, telling her story of the very impact of Amazon’s anticompetitive practices.
Main Street Alliance members have been leading communities all across the US to hold Amazon accountable. Main Street Alliance looks forward to continuing these efforts and building an equitable, fair, and transparent economy that works for our communities in 2024.
Take action with Main Street Alliance here.
