Jim Hightower says a President Harris decision to keep or remove Lina Khan at the FTC will be an early measure of her commitment to economic democracy.
Lina Khan in 2022. (E Gillet, Flickr, Public domain)
By Jim Hightower
OtherWords
We’ve recently learned about Project 2025, the GOP’s scheme to let corporate agents take over the U.S. government.
But there’s also a less visible effort by some donors to also make Democrats install corporate-subservient officials to expand their monopoly power.
High-finance finaglers of Wall Street and Silicon Valley are quietly demanding that Kamala Harris commit [if she becomes president] to appointing their designated toadies to oversee America’s so-called “free-enterprise” structure.
Their primary target is the Federal Trade Commission, a little-known agency meant to protect and extend economic competition.
The FTC is now headed by Lina Khan, a tenacious opponent of anti-consumer, anti-worker mergers and takeovers. She rightly recognizes that the “free” in free enterprise is not an adjective but a verb, requiring aggressive public action to free up the enterprise of people who are now routinely shut out of the market by monopolistic giants.
I think @linakhanFTC is easily one of the best Biden officials: aggressively using anti-trust law against Big Tech and other power centers to prevent concentrated corporate power that harms consumers.
A few Republicans also like her: JD Vance is one:https://t.co/9x3eh4KOVM
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 16, 2024
If we really want free markets, Khan says, then let’s free them.
Oh, how the money vultures screeched! “She’s a dope,” raged takeover bully Barry Diller in a dopey fury.
Since many of the monopolistic titans who are offended by Khan’s otherwise very popular progressive populism are from the high-dollar donor class, they have undue clout.
Thus they are bluntly demanding Khan’s head as their price for financially backing Harris’ presidential run. Commissioner Khan, they exclaim, simply does not understand “the way the Washington game is played.”
Oh yes she does — and she’s flat out rejecting it. Khan is the first real antitrust champion America has had in years. But will leading Democrats have the guts and integrity to defend her? Or will the business-as-usual powers be ushered back in?
The answer to that will be an early measure of a potential Harris administration’s commitment to economic democracy.
OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker.
This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
It is a bit surprising that Jim Hightower, a long-time very dependable voice of informed common sense governance, does not mention the relevant distinction between Milton Friedman’s failed founding of economic “free market Monetarism” and the more balanced, principled and viable “fair market” policy practiced by Lina Khan. A couple of Friedman’s most decadent and notable statements; “an entity’s greatest responsibility lies in the satisfaction of the shareholders.” and “A society that puts equality ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality or freedom.” have become the very philosophical foundation of the currently flawed and failing laissez faire “free market” system, and the resulting cause of the present expansion of untenable wealth disparity and the corruption of financial services both public and private.
As Usual,
EA
Post Script:
Does anything J.D. does or says really mean anything?
No, Vance is an empty vessel.
Jim: Do you have any doubts? Are you taking any bets??
Something tells me that the Harris-Walz campaign will make nice public noises for now about keeping Lina Khan on, but if they win in November, Khan will get the boot. Think about all the constituencies that are backing Harris — Wall St. / Pentagon / intel agencies / Capitol Hill / megadonors / Israel lobby / arms makers / Big Tech / Big Pharma / etc. — these are the schoolyard bullies that want Khan out.
Exactly. She’ll be quietly moved out. The Dems love to posture, but they’re neoliberals, which ain’t much different than libertarians. I’ve been getting fundraiser emails about the right-wing clown, Louis de Joy, who’s in charge of the Post Office, since Biden got in. Four years of them asking for money so that somehow Biden will force de Joy out. Yet there is de Joy, still around, and I’m still getting dire warnings and demands for money. The Dems don’t care. It’s all performative.
My Ouija board calculations strongly suggest less than a 10% chance that economic equity, social justice, environmental damage and even so obvious and law supported concerns as anti-trust actions will get much more than the public relations treatment.
Yes. If this woman is doing something positive for ordinary people, her appointment was most likely an oversight by the Bidet Administration.