Zephyr Teachout
@ZephyrTeachout
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Antimonopolist, pluralist, populist, professor. Books: Corruption in America, Break ‘em Up: Recovering our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money.
New York, NY
Joined July 2008
Remember Heller. Remember that the Roberts Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision--over a withering dissent by Stevens--threw out democratically passed gun control laws in 2008. They invented a new 2nd Amendment and a false banner to rally around to stop basic protection of children.
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Tens of millions of people who never knew Lina Khan's name are going to miss her.
The FTC is forcing H&R Block to stop their deceptive promises of ‘free’ filing and other unfair practices. An @FTC action will now require the company to stop making it harder for people to downgrade to a cheaper service, and will also make H&R Block pay $7 million in fines.
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Biden v. Ticketmaster.Biden v. Amazon .Biden v. Crypto.Biden v. Big Banks.Biden v. Big Ag.Biden v. Big Social . There's a reason that The Money Power (as they called it 130 years ago) is flocking to Trump and it's not because they've decided he's stable.
in terms of what the general public knows about Biden at this moment, we're way too under-indexed on the fact that he's been taking on corporate power in meaningful ways
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Beef prices rose 30 percent, while meatpackers have been celebrating an average of 120 percent increase in profits. The cost of Proctor and Gamble diapers, toothpaste, detergent, and tampons has risen throughout the pandemic while P&G has boasted record-breaking profits.
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If Harris wins--which I think she's going to--and Democrats win the house--which I think they are going to--and the Senate--which is possible with Osborn--then lets take this trifecta and make sure no one is ever as powerful as Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk again, not in a democracy.
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Chuck Schumer should resign as party leader. When there's an electoral disaster of this scope, you can't just continue as is. Also, it's time for economic populism at the head of party, and that's not Chuck, to put it mildly.
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Chuck Schumer should step down.
Due to an unforced error by Democrats, we lost the National Labor Relations Board majority two years earlier than expected. This is a huge setback for the hundreds of thousands of workers across this country organizing for a better contract. Let me explain. 🧵.
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So. Minnesota has been leading the nation in passing new antitrust legislation. Last year, for example, a new law that bans hospital mergers unless they are in the public interest. Walz, my friends, is a trustbuster!.
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Chuck Schumer giving up on four big Circuit court appointments for a bigger number of District courts appointments that the soon-to-be Trump appointees can overrule is terrible math.
Pulling all four of Biden’s remaining circuit court nominees is brutal. This pulls a nominee from the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 6th Circuits. Had the 3rd Circuit nominee been confirmed, it would have flipped control of the Court (oversees PA, NJ, DE and PR).
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Wow I hadn't realized this was possible. This seems like a no brainer!!!.
Biden could also reappoint Lina Khan and Schumer could confirm her in the lame duck, which would preserve a dem majority on the FTC for a couple of years.
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As a matter of basic honor, Chuck Schumer should resign.
Who is the leader of the Democratic party.
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No, seriously, Uber is deciding what driver gets what job based on their weight, whether they ever missed a payment, what political associations they have. Algorithmic wage discrimination should be made illegal before it becomes the dominant business model.
The work assignment algorithms at Uber and others appear to be far more more intrusive of worker privacy than I had ever imagined.
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15 years ago today, in Citizens United, the Supreme Court sided with the ACLU and held that corporations have the right to spend unlimited money in elections.
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Paul Singer spent a cool $500,000 in SuperPAC money against me in my 2016 Congressional race. I joined Ted Lieu and others in suing, arguing that Singer's single candidate SuperPAC was a clear corruption problem even after Citizens United. Denied cert by. the Supreme Court.
Singer’s hedge fund came before SCOTUS at least 10 times in cases where his role was often covered by the mainstream media. In 2014, the court agreed to resolve a key issue in a battle between his hedge fund and Argentina. Alito did not recuse himself.
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A website that reviews products and services for small businesses, reported that 56% of the 1,000 businesses they surveyed in November 2021 increased prices beyond inflation to boost profitability.
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A lot of thoughts on price gouging. First, 42 states have laws against price gouging that have worked well for decades. Harris' price gouging proposal would close the loophole that allows big corporations to price gouge in state 1 and sell in state 2 and get away with it.
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Caught a typo in an article I was about to submit about the possibility of an elf-governing society.
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Lawmakers bear the greatest responsibility. But remember that this Court bears responsibility too.
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Taking away SNAP means starving 20 million hungry children, one in three preschool kids.
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Listen to Chair Khan talk about "the destabiliz(ation) that can arise from companies believing that they're above the law, and that they can be reckless, take risks that can crash the economy, and get away with just a slap on the wrist.".
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The Schumer strategy failed in 2016. And then in 2024. “For every blue-collar Democrat we lose in western Pennsylvania we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs in Philadelphia, and you can repeat that in Ohio and Illinois and Wisconsin." .
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It is traditional in military and political affairs for a leader who has presided over a major failed strategy to step down. Me on why it is time for Chuck Schumer to resign, for the sake of the party:.
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The best way for Democrats to lose is to become the party that listens to billionaires who want to protect themselves on policy.
Billionaire LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman gave $7 million to the Harris campaign. Then he went on TV demanding she fire FTC Chair Lina Khan, who leads the Biden admin in suing companies like Amazon, stopping megamergers, and protecting workers. Harris must reject his demand.
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The New York Democratic Party needs a major overhaul.
Biggest swings towards Trump, by state (corrected from an earlier post): . 1. New York 11.5% .2. New Jersey 10.1% .3. Florida 9.8% .4. Massachusetts 8.7% .5. California 8.4% .6. Texas 8.3% .7. Mississippi 7.7% .8. Rhode Island 7.0% .9. Tennessee 6.5%.10. Illinois 6.4%.
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Chipotle prices are up 10 percent from January 2021 to January 2022, which the company blames on labor shortages, but their operating income rose 181 percent. While the cost of a basic cup of coffee at Starbucks has shot up 20 percent, the company profits are up 30 percent.
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82% of people polled:. “one of the biggest problems facing America today is that a handful of corporations and economic elites have too much power and the government is doing too little about it.” . Also, they are right and it's true.
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I mean that was a pretty extraordinary history-defying mid-term performance by Biden and the Democrats. Now back to work.
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Just saw Don’t Look Up and it’s absolutely brilliant. On point. And frankly moving.
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No more excuses. We spent more than Republicans & we lost every key demographic that was supposed to save us. Populism or bust. Corporate monopolies & ultraglobalization have gutted communities and human dignity. Smart tariffs, subsidies, antitrust, labor & fire in the belly.
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This is an incredible article about Mayor Pete, Tim Wu, flying, government, how ideas change lives. Seriously: put aside 20 minutes, get a cup of coffee, and learn about the antitrust revolution in action.
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A great chance to hear from the woman so powerful and effective that Reid Hoffman, Barry Diller (and several other billionaires) are doing everything they can to get her fired.
Sunday on 60 Minutes: Lesley Stahl sits down with Lina Khan, the powerful chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
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People often say the most outrageous things when it's something they've said or thought hundreds of times in smaller groups and no one has pushed back. This is obviously nonsense, but more worrying because it reflects a deep structure of wrongness, of wrong understanding.
Nancy Pelosi: Protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza "is Mr. Putin's message. Make no mistake, this is directly connected to what he would like to see. "I think some of these protesters are spontaneous and organic and sincere. Some I think are connected to Russia."
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I don't have words for my gratitude to Chair Lina Khan and her colleagues and the FTC staff over the last three and a half years. Thank you. An epic, powerful battle of beautiful laws and unrelenting courage on behalf of the American public. You allowed the spark of freedom.
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Gamers, welcome to the antimonopoly fight.
Breaking News: Microsoft agreed to buy the video game maker Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, its largest takeover ever and a big bet on the metaverse.
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If the Court is looking to overturn precedents there's always Marbury.
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Every state should do this.
BIG WIN: A Maine ballot measure that fights back against Citizens United and places limits on donations to Super PACs has passed. It set a nationwide precedent and help get dark money out of our elections.
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Last time he was President, Trump was paid more privately by the Chinese government than he was paid publicly by the United States, approx $5.5 million from the Chinese Government, approximately $1.8 million from US.
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Khan's strongest receipts are the Money Power wanting her gone. She gets stuff done, and enforces the law.
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When people want more policy from Harris, I don't think they mean white papers, but her take on how the world works, how we got to inflation, why is healthcare/housing so expensive, WHO caused it, WHO caused stagnant wages, and how strategically will she take on the money power.
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Woah!!! The FTC is going there! . So excited to see the FTC launching a full study into how companies use data to serve different prices to different people. We know the incentive and capacity is there, but the reality of surveillance pricing has been a triple-locked black box!.
With a 5-0 unanimous vote, FTC launched a 6(b) study issuing orders to 8 middlemen companies to understand how surveillance pricing works as companies are increasingly using troves of data & algorithms to determine different prices for different people: /1.
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One of the progressive movement's biggest self-own was to ever treat big tech oligarchs as an ally.
These people are delusional . The left didn't turn Andreessen, Thiel etc into Republicans. They didn't make Elon Musk alienate his own daughter. They didn't push Eric Schmidt into the embrace of the US natsec machine. And on and on
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Don't mess with Lina and the law. She doesn't just think it, she proves it.
Voters say inflation is their number one issue. Lina Khan, the youngest ever to chair the Federal Trade Commission, thinks that corporate consolidation helps drive prices up on everything from food to concert tickets.
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Sam Bankman-Fried. Menendez. Now Eric Adams. Damien Williams is the corruption prosecutor we've been waiting for, he moves fast and he doesn't play.
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I have read the Adams indictment. Yes, I know how much the Supreme Court has narrowed corruption law. But this has emails, dates, direct evidence and there's a clear path to the jury convicting, and the courts upholding. Damien Williams literally has the receipts.
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"While not all of these may be illegal, some of them may fit the definition of price gouging under New York law." . NY law bans “unconscionably excessive” prices, which include both “unconscionably extreme” prices and prices set through “unfair leverage or unconscionable means.”.
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The 2025 NYC budget is $112 billion. There are 50 city departments. More than 300,000 people work for the city. Eric Adams needs to resign. He cannot do the job and manage a city of this size. 8 million people need to live, run a business, go to school, be safe & secure.
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The @NewYorkStateAG has led pathbreaking lawsuits against Facebook and Google. She and her top-notch team brought a key lawsuit against Amazon’s abusive treatment of workers.
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(Sorry, I'm quoting the @NewYorkStateAG press release here, to be clear!). "Shipping prices are way up, while shipping company profit margins are breaking records. Chevron and Shell posted record profitability while energy costs soared.".
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She also led in other ways, and pushed for reforms to modernize New York State’s own antitrust laws and give enforcers the tools they need to hold dominant firms accountable. I couldn’t be happier to be working with her and the extraordinary lawyers and leaders in her office.
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A year ago, she issued a critical report on cover ups and lies in New York’s nursing homes. Remember what New York was a year ago: standing up to a powerful, bullying Governor for the most vulnerable New Yorkers was a moment of great bravery and principle.
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You cannot say that Harris and the Dems ran on Biden's economic populist policy. It's just not true, in the ads, speeches, and the gap between what Biden did and what was knows was. a canyon. See this swing state survey from August (GQR)
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Worth mentioning that it is not a defense to an emoluments clause violation, or any kind of bribery/extortion claim, that you donated the proceeds.
What a joke! All foreign government profits, for stays at our hotels and other properties while my father was in office, were voluntaraly donated to the United States Treasury. Just another example of @MSNBC counter-narrative for the most corrupt family in political history - The.
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Incredible to watch AOC w. her legendary political ability, beautifully explain the antimonopolist agenda & why it is good and possible to demand fairness w/ the inimitable Lina Khan. Special meaning for me as I knew each of them before -- to see them taking charge is such joy!.
Rep AOC kicks off the town hall with @linakhanFTC breaking down monopoly power in groceries, housing, healthcare. She introduces her as a leader who has used creativity and is genuinely working to address corporate power. Says she has not seen an FTC leader like her. 🔥💯
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Andy Beshear was a trustbusting Attorney General who took on PBMs early. Also on vouchers he does not flinch. Listen.
My opponent has time and time again said he supports school vouchers—he’s even told his supporters that vouchers are “what is at stake in this race.”. But now he won’t say it on camera because he knows it’s out of step with what Kentuckians really want.
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My god the reconnection of Americans to their own power in this economy has been just amazing--people feel and see the problem but our tongues were cut out by 30 years of sidelining antimonopoly and antitrust, the core tools for addressing power, to the purview of technocrats.
"Comments to the FTC have soared, from 13,000 five years ago to over 100,000 this past year alone.". "People are keenly aware of how issues of corporate power affect their daily lives.". @linakhanFTC on how @FTC opened its doors to the public under her leadership.
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Absurd article, written by and for people who never wanted antitrust enforcement, comes out the day after a killer acquisition in big pharma was stopped by the FTC, making 20 abandoned mergers after Khan investigated. They don't like the merger guidelines?! Of course they don't.
When Lina Khan, a star in the progressive new school of antitrust law, took over the FTC, she was expected to break up big business. Instead, critics say, she has broken the agency.
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If you haven't watched this yet, please do. Uber's mode of paying drivers in a discriminatory, opaque way, is the future of work if we don't intervene soon. Warehouses, care work, trucking, retail.
NEW: We put 7 Uber & Lyft drivers in one room and had them open their apps. We found Uber paying different drivers different amounts for the same ride. Lyft too. It’s proof corporations are using secret algorithms to pay workers less. And all of our jobs could be next.
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I kind of appreciate Reid Hoffman and the billionaires making the Lina Khan question so front and center, because its going to be far more embarrassing if the Dem elites fold and jettison her, press will all be asking Harris if she'll keep Khan, and she HAS to say yes, yes!.
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1) I eat my hat on Buttigieg, who I thought of as a McKinsey operator. He's doing really great work. 2) McGee is a hero to hundreds of thousands of fliers who will never know his name. What a difference a committed advocate makes!.
I started in the airlines in 1985. In all that time there's no doubt I never heard the White House comment more frequently on airline service issues than in the last two years. Thankfully, we're also seeing steps to address these problems, as words translate into actions.
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Private equity destroying communities part 10000.
NEW: Mobile homes are one of the last remaining affordable housing options in America. Now they’ve become private equity’s latest target. Private equity firms now own at least 1200 parks nationwide. Residents have seen their rents spike by as much as 100% in the last 6 years.
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Every 10 days for the past 1,275 days, the Wall Street Journal has yelled about FTC Chair Lina Khan enforcing the law. Rant #124 complains that she is enforcing the law to protect small business against corporate monopolistic abuse.
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Read it and weep, monopolists. This is a fantastic profile both of Chair Khan, and the people who are directly hurt by lawbreakers and helped by her incredible, truly fearless and smart leadership.
NEW @BW feature: "Who's Afraid of Lina Khan?".Based on conversations with 100 people - billionaires, service workers, agency heads, executives, VCs, senators, scholars, advocates, current/former FTC staff, & Khan herself, at HQ & on the road. Unpaywalled:
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Fourteen years ago tomorrow the Supreme Court in Citizens United mangled American history and the meaning of corruption in service of corporate power.
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Is it going to be Uber or labor driving Harris's policy?. I wrote for the @nybooks why embracing Lina Khan as Chair of the FTC would send a clear signal of economic leadership from Kamala.
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Mayor Adams cannot manage the city. Systemic breakdown. I don't think we'll see the total human cost of the Adams administration dysfunction for years.
SCOOP: @DOEChancellor is resigning from his position and retiring before the end of the year, the latest in around of resignations of the Adams Administration, according to sources. More to come.
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Harris better come out swinging against Google and big tech tonight because this is an awful look.
Karen Dunn gave Google's opening statement in an antitrust trial yesterday, then went back to prep Kamala Harris for tonight's debate. @lukewgoldstein explains how Dunn's law firm has been trying to disqualify her trial adversary, DOJ's Jonathan Kanter.
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There is nothing xenophobic about laws forbidding foreign ownership of critical infrastructure. It is, in fact, simply rational, flowing from a rational assessment of rational motive and opportunity. It is democracy protecting. Like the Foreign Emoluments clause.
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Good morning to one hell of an Election Day. Harris is going to win this. I love it that Harris' final stop was with AOC last night.
.@AOC and @KamalaHarris stop by Old San Juan Cafe in Reading, PA to talk to Latino voters on Election Eve
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"New York’s statute is also unique in the wide scope of covered goods and services, and the fact that it covers all actors in the supply chain for those goods and services, including manufacturers, retailers, distributors, shipping firms, and online platforms.".
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If you think there's a problem with Trump taking $5 million from the Chinese Government while President, you should think there's a problem with Chinese Government control of essential communications infrastructure.
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When Germany and Japan put in place antimonopoly laws after WWII, it was because they saw how profoundly dangerous it was to have private power joined at the hip to political power.
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Harris can run on the "I'm with Khan and against price-fixing" or "I'm with the billionaires and against law enforcement.". Don't listen to the scofflaws, Kamala! . This is not center/left/right this is rule of law.
Today it’s Starwood Property’s billionaire real estate investor (aka landlord / hotel owner) crying on TV about being investigated by the FTC for price fixing and then wish casting that Harris moves to the center.
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Walz is absolutely unafraid to govern.
Last year, I wrote a big story about how Minnesota's pro-worker Governor Tim Walz and Minnesota's Democratic legislature enacted arguably the most pro-worker package of legislation that any American state had enacted in decades.
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"The law also prohibits price gouging not just of consumers but also small businesses and state and local governments. The (ANPR) outlines the evidence that some of the price increases for vital and necessary goods may violate NY law & lays out the incentive structures.".
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Trying to cancel a subscription has been like swimming in mud filled with seaweed for the last decade this is amazing news from the FTC.
FTC announces final “Click-to-Cancel” Rule making it easier for consumers to end recurring subscriptions and memberships: #ClicktoCancel /1.
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We all know we all see it and we all pay for it all the time--small businesses have what amount to a private tax imposed by Visa--its thrilling to have this rampant illegality finally getting checked by the DOJ!.
The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit accusing Visa of illegally monopolizing the debit card market, adding to the price of "nearly everything"
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We know Trump took $5 million from the Chinese government while in office this is insanity, basic violation of the oldest anticorruption law in our country, ***the emoluments clause*** and blatantly disloyal and corrupt.
NEWS: Rep Jamie Raskin has been making the case to Senate Dems that they consider using their subpoena power to continue his investigation into Trump's millions in profits from foreign governments while in office. Why aren't Senate Dems pursuing this? 1/.
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14th anniversary of not knowing about Alito taking gifts from mega donors when he joined Citizens United majority .
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Companies ripping off sick people and destroying local pharmacies and community health care at least doing a a neon PSA that antitrust policy really matters.
BREAKING: CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group and Cigna are suing the Federal Trade Commission, claiming that the agency going after drug middlemen over high insulin prices is unconstitutional.
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"The OAG is seeking comment from the public on a wide range of questions about price gouging, including questions about industry tools that may obscure price gouging. Public comments. may be submitted immediately and until April 22, 2022 at stopillegalprofiteering@ag.ny.gov.".
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Worth remembering that BigTech argument of choice is "liability laws will break the internet" and "limiting algorithmic targeting will break the internet".
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What Khan and the FTC are doing re pricing is really important. There's longstanding norms against price gouging, but new techniques--and concentration--raise the same fairness/exploitation of power issues, albeit in different forms. Glad to see the FTC go there.
1. No American should face inflated prices due to unlawful business practices. This week @FTC co-convened federal enforcers and regulators to discuss our efforts combatting illegal pricing.
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Uber poisons everything it touches. Higher taxi costs, lower wages, more exploitation, more uncertainty, and now a Presidential election. Don't forget Plouffe who cashed out his Obama goodwill with an Uber honcho job and went on to be Harris' strategic whisperer.
One bit regret in Biden world? That Harris abandoned the anti-big-business populism of the campaign, reports @FranklinFoer
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The voting rights emergency demands pulling out all the stops, carving out a filibuster exception, and does NOT include time for a Senate holiday recess.
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There are about 6000 babies born every day whose birth is paid for by Medicaid. What are we doing?.
NEW: My staff has confirmed reports that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following last night's federal funding freeze. This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed.
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Now that corporate power and Trump power are jumping into bed together without sneaking around about it anymore, is there anyone who does not see why antimonopoly is a democracy issue?.
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Lina Khan is simply the best of government. She listens calmly, investigates seriously, explains clearly, and doesn't fuck around in enforcing the law.
Amazon doubled the number of junk ads to boost profits and deleted internal communications to thwart a federal antitrust probe, according to the FTC. Chair Lina Khan speaks with @emilychangtv about the newly released details in the agency's lawsuit
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The Wall Street Journal has written an attack on FTC Chair Lina Khan every two weeks, on average, since she took the helm (93 times) and they just keep missing.
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I live in a union household. I believe in union power. I’m standing in solidarity with the grad student workers @SW_Columbia, who deserve to have all their demands for fair pay + harassment & discrimination protections met NOW. #CUonStrike.
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According to the St. Louis Fed corporate profits have increased more than 100% in the past year, significantly above the rate of inflation. Big companies are experiencing a 70-year high in corporate profit margins.
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@dylanmatt Actually trying without telling anyone or openly naming enemies is not the same thing.
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The FTC -- yes, the FTC!--is becoming an increasingly important regulator of out of control housing prices. Imagine a second term Khan under President Harris, with Bedoya and Slaughter, taking all that they've done in three +years and building on it--there are so many cheats.
FTC takes action against Invitation Homes for deceiving renters, charging junk fees, withholding security deposits, and employing unfair eviction practices: /1.
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If you support the ban on foreign corporate spending in US elections, you should support a ban on foreign government ownership of essential communications facilities.
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This is horrible, weekends are when children find libraries, start to live in them, discover books, discover public life.
Public libraries in New York will be forced to close on weekends due to Mayor Eric Adams budget cuts
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Yes we need price gouging federal law. During an emergency, such as a natural disaster, short-term demand cannot be met by short-term supply, setting the stage for sellers to exploit their position by raising prices on goods already in their inventory.
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@E_iversonii The ACLU has led the money=speech and corporate speech rights charge for 50 years.
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Uber is the business model of the future if we don't stop it: individualized high prices, individualized low wages, crappy service, middleman exploiting both consumers and workers.
Key new piece: "Since taking the helm of Uber, Dara has raised US ridehail prices by 55% — more than twice the rate of inflation — while cutting driver pay, despite soaring inflation in auto operating costs borne by Uber’s millions of US drivers."
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