New York legislation can address growing anti-trust concerns. The 21st Century Anti-Trust Act updates the state's aged anti-trust laws and closes loopholes companies have abused. This comes as an Institute for Local Self-Reliance report finds corporations in New York and nationwide leverage structural racism and use other tactics to establish market dominance.
Susan Holmberg, associate director for research with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, said one such tactic is stripping communities of local businesses and basic services.
"So, a lot of monopolies, they're just trying to edge out smaller competitors, but by doing that they're wiping out independent businesses that are much more well suited to serve communities of color, often because they live in these communities and their incentives are so different," she explained.
Other patterns Holmberg identifies are imposing high prices and substandard services on areas with no alternatives and exploiting workers of color. Some oppose the bill, saying it's anti-business and anti-consumer, while others say it favors competitors over competition. But Holmberg noted these trends aren't limited to companies such as Amazon. They're economy-wide trends also in the banking, waste, pharmaceutical and grocery industries.
Federal bills can also aid national antitrust practices. The Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act gives federal enforcers the necessary resources to do their jobs and strengthens prohibitions on anticompetitive conduct and mergers. Other federal antitrust work is building a foundation to rein in monopolies, Holmberg said.
"They're really reorienting and returning antitrust to its original intent, how the laws were written which is about dispersing economic power, promoting fair competition and enhancing community self-determination," she added.
She said this is also about safeguarding financial liberties for people in the United States. But, some of the biggest hurdles to this are limited resources for agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and political challenges like a divided Congress.
