New merger guidelines could help with a lot of things

Like, you know, fairness, justice, and in general over time a better deal for almost everyone.

A major shift is afoot in the federal government’s stance on big business. Earlier this year, the two agencies in charge of enforcing the antitrust laws, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, announced that they plan to revise their merger guidelines. That may sound like a minor technicality, but in fact, it heralds a sea change in the workings of antitrust law. The new guidelines, expected later this year, will likely make it much harder for large corporations to amass power by buying other companies. Over time the guidelines will also shape how judges understand and apply the antitrust laws in their rulings.

Had this shift in enforcement policy come about years ago, Americans wouldn’t be contending with a host of debilitating problems caused by consolidation. Mergers in the food industry, for example, have allowed dominant meatpackers and other processors to slash the incomes of farmers and food workers, while raising grocery prices. Mergers among manufacturers of everything from appliances to beer cans have led to the shuttering of plants, costing communities thousands of jobs. Hospital mergers have sent health care costs soaring, while dozens of rural communities have lost their hospitals altogether, as big hospital chains bought and then closed small facilities. Meanwhile, Amazon, Facebook, and Google have used acquisitions to thwart potential competition and lock in their dominance, to the detriment of small businesses, local newspapers, and others seeking to communicate or sell products online.

New merger guidelines hold the promise of putting a stop to these kinds of domineering moves by powerful corporations. But their potential isn’t limited to simply preventing America’s monopoly problem from getting worse. Strong merger enforcement would create a fairer playing field for small businesses and allow more startups to gain a toehold, deconcentrating industries over time. And as we’ve noted, the merger guidelines provide a framework for understanding the antitrust laws that history shows can significantly influence how the courts apply the law, and not only in merger cases. - ILSR

Facts about the food price crisis

This explains it, succinctly yet thoroughly, as well as anything I've seen does.

At the center of this crisis is the fact that the production of the world’s staple crops destined for export is concentrated in a small number of countries, and they are shipped around the world by a handful of trading firms. Much of this globally traded food is grown from a narrow range of seed varieties, using uniform industrial agricultural methods.

So, is it any wonder that a war involving two countries that specialize in producing two of these staples should spark a major global food crisis?

As we detail in the latest report from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), the world’s food security is built on a house of cards—the whole edifice can tumble when one card falls. The concentrated nature of the global food system creates vulnerabilities, which can have cascading consequences when there are disruptions to any part of it. These economies of scale might be designed for profitable efficiency, when things operate according to plan. But they’re neither stable, resilient, nor dependable in the face of risks, especially for vulnerable people.

Add to this concentrated global food system the financial markets, which can further exaggerate the effects of price shocks. - Civil Eats

What should be done about Big Meat

Trenchant.

President Joe Biden has declared war on Big Meat. Yup, Biden’s war. The president pinky swears new rules and a billion dollars in new funding will somehow end decades of what amounts to a meat monopoly in the beef, pork and chicken industries.

In announcing the plan, Biden noted, “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation. That’s what we’re seeing in meat and poultry industries now.”

...Biden acknowledges that Big Meat has for years put its collective thumb on the meat scale to cheat ranchers, farmers and yes, all of us, at our local grocery store meat counter. And the president believes it's high time to do something about it...

But like presidents that have gone before (most recently Barack Obama anybody?) Biden's plan as introduced in January falls short. Way, way, WAY, WAY short.

Because Biden's plan at the moment would not break up Big Meat. - Investigate Midwest