Comments on: Antitrust, The Bailout, and the Coming Boom in Monopolization Enforcement http://www.truthonthemarket.com/2008/12/13/antitrust-the-bailout-and-the-coming-boom-in-monopolization-enforcement/ Academic commentary on law, business, economics and more Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:08:11 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Josh http://www.truthonthemarket.com/2008/12/13/antitrust-the-bailout-and-the-coming-boom-in-monopolization-enforcement/comment-page-1/#comment-144116 Josh Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:10:39 +0000 http://www.truthonthemarket.com/2008/12/13/antitrust-the-bailout-and-the-coming-boom-in-monopolization-enforcement/#comment-144116 Thurman: I reject the premise of your question because I don't believe that any monopolization cases brought by DOJ would only be motivated by political concerns. My claim is fairly simple and I don't think one has to buy into left-wing/right-wing games to explain it. The Obama camp (not me) has said that they will increase antitrust enforcement efforts. The economic crisis, on the margin, is likely to temper their enthusiasm to the extent that enforcement is likely to be connected to job loss and the like politically. Thats an argument that David Boies, no antitrust right-winger, makes as well. I believe that tempering effect is small in monopolization cases for the reasons stated. Therefore, we are likely to get the unconstrained vision of the Obama regime in monopolization cases. Thurman: I reject the premise of your question because I don’t believe that any monopolization cases brought by DOJ would only be motivated by political concerns.

My claim is fairly simple and I don’t think one has to buy into left-wing/right-wing games to explain it.

The Obama camp (not me) has said that they will increase antitrust enforcement efforts. The economic crisis, on the margin, is likely to temper their enthusiasm to the extent that enforcement is likely to be connected to job loss and the like politically. Thats an argument that David Boies, no antitrust right-winger, makes as well. I believe that tempering effect is small in monopolization cases for the reasons stated.

Therefore, we are likely to get the unconstrained vision of the Obama regime in monopolization cases.

]]> By: Thurman Arnold http://www.truthonthemarket.com/2008/12/13/antitrust-the-bailout-and-the-coming-boom-in-monopolization-enforcement/comment-page-1/#comment-144115 Thurman Arnold Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:48:19 +0000 http://www.truthonthemarket.com/2008/12/13/antitrust-the-bailout-and-the-coming-boom-in-monopolization-enforcement/#comment-144115 Prof. Wright: You make it sound as though any monopolization cases brought by DOJ in the new administration could only be motivated by a desire to run up the score in order to prove the new team’s enforcement chops without threatening jobs. But if principle is only on the side of non-enforcement of Section 2, how do you explain the FTC’s record on monopolization case during the current administration? You can’t blame rogue left-wing Commissioners for the cases initiated by conservative Chairman Muris, particularly given the intellectual effort Muris’ team brought to thinking about the problem of “cheap exclusion. Prof. Wright: You make it sound as though any monopolization cases brought by DOJ in the new administration could only be motivated by a desire to run up the score in order to prove the new team’s enforcement chops without threatening jobs. But if principle is only on the side of non-enforcement of Section 2, how do you explain the FTC’s record on monopolization case during the current administration? You can’t blame rogue left-wing Commissioners for the cases initiated by conservative Chairman Muris, particularly given the intellectual effort Muris’ team brought to thinking about the problem of “cheap exclusion.

]]>