Thread by @matthewstoller

1. @amyklobuchar just introduced a major antitrust bill, so here are my thoughts. This bill reads to me reads more an announcement she's taking over the antitrust subcommittee than a finished product. Klobuchar is really smart and was an antitrust lawyer, she knows this area.

https://twitter.com/ZephyrTeachout/status/1357356704833409026

2. Most antitrust law is 'rule of reason,' meaning the judge gets to do what he wants. Under 'rule of reason,' a judge approved the obviously illegal Sprint-T-Mobile merger, and a circuit court egregiously overturned a decision against Qualcomm monopoly's. Just bad all around.

3. Klobuchar's bill both hits and misses this problem. The bill has, as @ZephyrTeachout notes, a bright line rule on mergers of companies worth more than $100B. Such a rule makes it hard for judges to protect monopolies (as they tend to do right now).

4. The antitrust establishment is upset by the idea that Congress would straight up legislate and say 'you can do X but you can't do Y.' They want to have a fight over which vague term is better, all so judges and economists get to do what they want. It's dumb. We need rules.

5. That's why @amyklobuchar's presumption of companies worth more than $100B not being allowed to merge is so good. It's a bright line rule. That's good. That alone will have a big impact on venture funding and the economy.

6. What is also useful is having Klobuchar running the subcommittee instead of the pro-monopoly Republican Mike Lee. Hopefully she'll do a bunch of useful hearings and investigations, like the House Antitrust Subcommittee did last Congress.

7. The economy is way more concentrated today than it was even last year, and there are a lot more Trump judges, who lean corporatist. So our antitrust update needs to reflect that. I think Klobuchar knows this.

8. There are two problems. First, giving the agencies more money without real oversight is a problem. The FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division are terrible and need revamping. Second, much of the bill retains the vague 'rule of reason' framework. That won't solve our monopoly crisis.

9. But that's ok. This is a process, and I doubt this is the endpoint. There aren't many members of the Senate like @amyklobuchar on antitrust. She actually understands this area of law and has practiced it. I'm interested to see where she takes the subcommittee.