Product Description
24 essays on the antitrust misadventures of the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice. This e-book reflects the author's experiences over a decade of covering U.S. antitrust policy and talks about the impact of government intervention on small and big business alike. Irrelevant Markets provides unique insights into the daily abuses of power at the FTC and DOJ that have gone largely unreported by the mainstream press — some of whom are literally in bed with high-ranking antitrust officials, as one essay explains.
Irrelevant Markets covers such topics as the FTC and DOJ's obsessions with mergers in niche markets, including $1 shampoo; the comical lengths prosecutors will go to maintain secrecy, even from federal judges; how antitrust has extended its tentacles into professional and college sports; and how you could lose your car if you sell cosmetic lenses without a permit.
Contents
Merger Hysteria
1. Making a Federal Case Over $1 Shampoo
2. Antitrust “Experts” Failed to Predict Blockbuster’s Demise
3. Varney Plays Chicken with the Economy — and Loses
4. Acrylic Latex and the Pretense of Knowledge
5. Americans Overcharged for “Merger Review” Services
Tyranny in Defense of “Free” Markets
6. Judge Punishes Concrete Executive for Being Rich, White
7. The FTC vs. the FTC
8. DOJ Official Brags About Jailing Foreigners
9. Steroids and the Rambus Fallacy
10. Must the Government Decide if KFC Is Good for You?
11. Legalized Kidnapping
12. The Antitrust Playoffs Have Begun
Accountability
13. Fighting Secrecy with More Secrecy
14. FTC: Public Has No Right to Know What We Spend
15. DOJ Contradicts Itself with “Paywall” Around Spending Data
16. FTC Failed to Discover Employee Theft for 21 Months
Profiteers
17. FTC Names British Government Agent to Senior Position
18. Antitrust Is Big Business for Top Parasites
19. Will the Last (Unrecused) Commissioner Close the FTC?
20. Google Inquisitor an Antitrust Hypocrite
21. The FTC Is Literally in Bed with Big Media
Solutions
22. Who Will Follow His Lead?
23. Is Ron Paul the Only Hope for Antitrust Reform?
24. Putting Lipstick on a Pig
Irrelevant Markets covers such topics as the FTC and DOJ's obsessions with mergers in niche markets, including $1 shampoo; the comical lengths prosecutors will go to maintain secrecy, even from federal judges; how antitrust has extended its tentacles into professional and college sports; and how you could lose your car if you sell cosmetic lenses without a permit.
Contents
Merger Hysteria
1. Making a Federal Case Over $1 Shampoo
2. Antitrust “Experts” Failed to Predict Blockbuster’s Demise
3. Varney Plays Chicken with the Economy — and Loses
4. Acrylic Latex and the Pretense of Knowledge
5. Americans Overcharged for “Merger Review” Services
Tyranny in Defense of “Free” Markets
6. Judge Punishes Concrete Executive for Being Rich, White
7. The FTC vs. the FTC
8. DOJ Official Brags About Jailing Foreigners
9. Steroids and the Rambus Fallacy
10. Must the Government Decide if KFC Is Good for You?
11. Legalized Kidnapping
12. The Antitrust Playoffs Have Begun
Accountability
13. Fighting Secrecy with More Secrecy
14. FTC: Public Has No Right to Know What We Spend
15. DOJ Contradicts Itself with “Paywall” Around Spending Data
16. FTC Failed to Discover Employee Theft for 21 Months
Profiteers
17. FTC Names British Government Agent to Senior Position
18. Antitrust Is Big Business for Top Parasites
19. Will the Last (Unrecused) Commissioner Close the FTC?
20. Google Inquisitor an Antitrust Hypocrite
21. The FTC Is Literally in Bed with Big Media
Solutions
22. Who Will Follow His Lead?
23. Is Ron Paul the Only Hope for Antitrust Reform?
24. Putting Lipstick on a Pig
