The Department of Justice (DOJ) is trying to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger by claiming it violates antitrust laws. The real reason, of course, is that President Donald Trump is going after his political opponents, namely CNN, which is owned by Time Warner.
There are a few issues here:
- Antitrust laws should be abolished; they stifle competition, help special interests, and hurt consumers.
- President Trump isn’t the only president to wield the government club to go after political adversaries.
- In a truly free market, monopolies do not form, or if they do then they don’t last.
Legendary economist Milton Friedman often discussed the issues with monopolies and antitrust.
Here is a clip from the 1970s featuring Friedman musing on the topics:
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