The FTC Chairman Agrees With Me!
According to this article from the Oil & Gas Journal:
Evidence does not support imposing merger requirements on the oil and gas industry tougher than those applied to other industries, US Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Majoras told the Antitrust Modernization Commission Mar. 21. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has said he plans to introduce legislation to increase federal antitrust authority as a way to protect consumers from oil and gas industry concentration and its potential impact on gasoline prices. … Noting that she spoke on her own behalf rather than for the FTC, Majoras said antitrust laws should not be changed to fit particular industries. “Fundamentally, we do not need to make substantive changes to the primary federal antitrust laws,” she said. She said there was no empirical evidence that mergers of oil and gas companies are responsible for high gasoline prices. “The evidence does not point to mergers as the reason,” she said. FTC officials maintain that rising gasoline prices stem from higher crude oil prices worldwide and are unrelated to mergers previously approved by the FTC.
Last week, I reported on Sen. Specter’s proposal and wrote that “I have grave doubts about the wisdom of treating different products/markets differently under the antitrust laws because of a belief (rightly or wrongly) that the product is ‘vital’ to American consumers and the economy.” Glad to see that great minds think alike.
Technorati Tags: Specter, antitrust, Sherman Act, Oil and gas, Federal Trade Commission, Deborah Majoras, Antitrust Modernization Commission
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March 24th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
David, I hate to tell you this: You and Chairman Majoras aren’t exactly alone in thinking that Specter’s proposal isn’t a good idea. =)
March 24th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
But look at the timing: I come out against Sen. Specter’s proposal on March 16. Five days later Chairman Majoras comes out against it. Coincidence? I think not. It is clear that she reads this blog and takes her cues from it.
March 24th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
It’s official: David is the man. I can already see a spike in traffic from the antitrust arbs
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:14 pm
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