US President Biden signs an order aimed at creating more competition between companies. He describes the deregulation that began under Reagan as a failed experiment.
US President Joe Biden wants to promote competition in the American economy and curb the overwhelming power of large corporations in certain industries. “I am a proud capitalist,” said Biden. “But let me be very clear: Capitalism without competition is not capitalism, it is exploitation.” The system has to work for the people, not the other way around. Biden signed an order to limit barriers to competition.
In total, there are 72 individual measures that are intended to strengthen competition. They affect, for example, the agricultural, aviation, health, internet and banking sectors. In the event of premature termination of Internet contracts, for example, excessive fees should be prohibited. Due to exclusive contracts, tenants should no longer have just one option for an internet contract. When repairing devices, the manufacturer should not be able to prohibit self-repair or third-party repairs per se. The prices for drugs are to be reduced. Farmers should also be able to sue more easily if they receive too little money from slaughterhouses for their animals.
“The heart of American capitalism is a simple idea: open and fair competition,” said Biden. With his plan, he is ending a 40-year-old “experiment” that went wrong, which allowed US companies to create monopolitical structures due to a lack of regulation and thus harm the American population. The then US President Ronald Reagan came to power 40 years ago and initiated extensive liberalization of economic issues. Because of the failed experiment, people today are forced to accept poor terms on the goods and services they need to live, Biden said.
Biden’s “duty to act”
Overall, higher prices and lower wages caused by a lack of competition would cost an average US household an estimated $ 5,000 a year, according to the White House. In many industries, a small number of large companies control a significant part of the business. This lack of competition is driving up consumer prices and depressing wages.
While the stock exchanges reacted calmly to the news, major business associations criticized the president’s announcement as interfering with the free market and providing solutions to problems being sought. Biden’s press spokeswoman Jen Psaki said legal disputes were possible over the new regulations. However, Biden is of the opinion that he must focus on what is in the interests of American consumers. And when a lack of competition drives up prices and harms workers, he has a “duty to act”.