At a recent “anti-monopoly summit,” Federal Trade Commission Chairman Lina Khan painted a grim picture of life in the American economy. She warned, among other things, that people’s economic liberties are being undermined. To ask the next obvious question, “By whom, Ms. Khan?”
Khan’s remarks highlight reasonable fears about bogeymen lurking across our economy. But the academic legal theories she’s aggressively promoting to bring entrepreneurs and businesses to heel have resulted in the FTC’s unbalanced response in fulfilling its mission as a consumer protection agency. These misplaced priorities are demonstrably harming American consumers, as a recently released FTC performance report made abundantly clear.
Under Khan, the FTC has embarked on a headline-grabbing spate of lawsuits, rulemaking, and merger reviews, punctuated with fawning media interviews, such as with “The Daily Show’s” Jon Stewart.
Rules like the recent one against “junk fees” are a prime example of the FTC using its powers for the wrong purposes. Essentially, so-called junk fees are the price we pay for junk regulations. Underpinning fees pushed onto consumers are government regulations that raise costs. If the FTC wanted fully informed consumers, it would make the costs of regulation we pay on every good and service we purchase more transparent. A junk fee regulation would do the opposite by adding additional compliance and paperwork costs to businesses that will, again, pass them on to consumers.
These proposed rulings are intended to distract the public from what is actually happening. Our economy is failing, goods and service prices are soaring, and prices are up over 15% with everyday necessities at an all-time high.
Instead of protecting consumers, the FTC is more concerned with pushing narratives that distract Americans from the real issues plaguing our country. These efforts are consuming enormous amounts of the agency’s time.
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