Lina Khan Has Been a Terrible FTC Chair

https://www.threads.net/@eric_seufert/post/C30bMM_pTsG

by CharlesW • 2 years ago

4 6 2 years ago

robbiex88• 2 years ago

I really wish this was posted in blog or article format instead of a series of threads posts (which I flat out refuse to use).

yial• 2 years ago

I believe this is the report referenced.

ABUSE OF POWER, WASTE OF RESOURCES, AND FEAR: WHAT INTERNAL DOCUMENTS AND TESTIMONY FROM CAREER EMPLOYEES SHOW ABOUT THE FTC UNDER CHAIR LINA KHAN

https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-j.....

hlieberman2• 2 years ago

Notably, this is an interim staff report that has NOT been voted on by the committee and was produced entirely by partisan (Republican) staff.

kn0where• 2 years ago

On the other hand, an FTC that was afraid to bring forward any cases that weren’t an automatic slam dunk wasn’t good either. Maybe changing the direction of the agency ruffled the feathers of those who prefer it operate in the same way it always had. Maybe LK is bad at running the agency, but the career politicians of Congress like Jim Jordan also have motivation to tear down anyone who actually threatens the power of the big corporations who legally bribe them each election cycle.

Different agency, but lots of people thought the DOJ’s case against the JetBlue/Spirit merger was too aggressive and would fail. Turns out a Reagan-appointed judge agreed the merger was anticompetitive. I’d like to see the government try and sometimes succeed rather than never try.

hlieberman2• 2 years ago

Honestly, if someone who is an investor is complaining about the FTC, they're probably doing their job right.

stackskipton• 2 years ago

All of this comes from Republican Report which had incentive to trash FTC because business donors are downright PISSED at FTC. Heaven forbid we actually enforce anti trust laws in United States.

Has FTC lost a ton of people? Yes. Why? Because FTC had a ton of career people who would do a few years at FTC then move on to corporate law. So? They didn't want their names all over subpoena/lawsuits, the whole point is play nice with large corporations so they could move on.

Did Lina Khan override the FTC commissioners to give herself subpoena power? Yes. Why? The FTC commissioners had done this a while ago to make it harder to issue subpoenas. Basically this setup neutered the FTC and Lina Khan realized that letting these rules continue would impede investigations.

TL;DR: Yes, Lina Khan has upset FTC. It was very pro corporate government entity and she has changed that. That was whole reason she was appointed. Yea, Republicans and some Democrats are very unhappy because their donors are unhappy. Anyone who thinks corporate power is too strong in United States should be thrilled to hear this.

Lina Khan Has Been a Terrible FTC Chair

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