Posted on 04/12/2021 12:48:55 PM PDT by RandFan
Corporate giants would be barred from acquisitions and century-old antitrust laws would get sharper teeth under a new proposal by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) shared exclusively with Axios.
The big picture: Hawley is among the Senate's most conservative members, but his attack on corporate power wouldn't sound out of place on Elizabeth Warren's or Bernie Sanders' agenda.
That's how deeply Republicans' anger at what they see as out-of-control "censorship" by Big Tech and overreaching activism by "woke corporations" has alienated some of the party from its traditional big-business base.
Details: Hawley's "Trust-Busting for the Twenty-First Century Act" would ...
Ban mergers and acquisitions by firms with a market cap over $100 billion
- Lower the threshold for prosecution under existing federal antitrust laws, replacing the prevalent "consumer harm" standard with one that emphasizes "the protection of competition"
- Require companies that lose federal antitrust lawsuits to "forfeit all their profits resulting from monopolistic conduct"
- Give the Federal Trade Commission new power to designate and regulate "dominant digital firms" in different online markets.
What they're saying: "This country and this government shouldn't be run by a few mega-corporations," Hawley told Axios. The Republican Party "has got to become the party of trust-busting once again. You know, that's a part of our history."
"We tried it the way that the big corporatists wanted," he said, "and it hasn't been a success for the American consumer, for the American producer, or for the American economy.
(Excerpt) Read more at axios.com ...
Conveniently presented as a minority so it has absolutely no chance.
It’s too bad that Warren and Sanders aren’t actively working with the GOP on big tech issues. Typical politicians, just demagogue for votes and to extort campaign contributions.
International corporations should be prohibited from lobbying Congress or contributing to political pacs or otherwise engaging in political discourse.
They should be treated as foreign governments. An international corporation would be any corporation with less than 90% of its income being generated in the United States or having offices in more than 1 foreign country.
Excellent idea. Too bad our government is not actually interested in good governance.
Basically that is the current way the wealth is spread out. If he restricts the markets of the 100 billion dollar companies then that is different, and it will depend on how that's done. Facebook can crush competitors or buy them and he'd have to stop both of those actions. Otherwise nobody will invest in a competitor. They will only invest in Facebook.
Awesome.
Why didn’t (rhetorical question) anybody do this when the Republicans were in power? Answer, they really don’t want this and know it will never pass under the Democrats.
The winds are changing. The Corporatist are going with the party who has a promising majority and will protect them. Donations are headed to to coffers of the DNC with punishment dealt to those who do otherwise.
Private Ownership with Government control (while the BigCorps tell the govt what they should ask for). I.e. Taxes are all for the little people.
by your thinking the minority party should just go home. That is some deep thinking there skippy
They should be treated as foreign governments. An international corporation would be any corporation with less than 90% of its income being generated in the United States or having offices in more than 1 foreign country.
Perfect. That would eliminate the temptation for anyone to go the (unconstitutional) Trust-Busting route, where the State tries to play police-and-prophet in the marketplace--and is always a decade or two behind reality to boot.
In the old newt days he would put this proposal in a contract and say elect us and we'll get it down in the majority, and then do it.
>>by your thinking the minority party should just go home. That is some deep thinking there skippy
No, what should have happened is that while we (R’s) controlled the Whitehouse and at least 1/2 of congress, that would have been the time to be bold with actions - not when you are out of power and are just virtue signaling things that have no chance of passing.
No one should be allowed to lobby. PERIOD.
Put your product out their and compete. Don’t be allowed to use an army of lawyers to get the morons in Congress to pass laws and regulations that stifle competition and allow the big guys to wipe out the little guy.
Lockheed Martin has damn near more lawyers working for them than engineers. Drove into DC and the corporate buildings are like weeds. Those places aren’t where they’re designing the next new thing. That’s where they’re trying to figure out how to get the next Congress person in their back pocket.
>>Why didn’t (rhetorical question) anybody do this when the Republicans were in power? Answer, they really don’t want this and know it will never pass under the Democrats.
Exactly!
“by your thinking the minority party should just go home.”
Well, THIS minority party could go home and there would be no difference. The handful that would actually try to do something are in the extreme minority. The minority “leader” in either chamber isn’t worth a bucket of warm spit.
Your wording is the near exact definition of national socialism.
As intended. “Vampire Economy”, here we come.
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