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David Dayen

Jan 25 • 3 tweets • 2 min read

In July 2021 President Biden issued an executive order promoting competition in the U.S. economy.
It included 72 different actions.
18 months later, I figured out how many got done.
Change is hard, but it's happening.
#longread from me:
prospect.org/economy/2023-0…

The goal of the executive order was to change a mindset, to bring competition back to the fore of government policy. The architects are leveraging the power of the president to push the agencies outside their usual trajectories.
prospect.org/economy/2023-0…

@superwuster

Among other things, this piece was the product of several hours of discussions with @superwuster, who devised the executive order. This was his lasting contribution to the country, and it was fascinating to track. I hope you can make time for it today.
prospect.org/economy/2023-0…

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More from @ddayen

David Dayen

@ddayen

Jan 25

https://twitter.com/ddayen/status/1618252548556853248

There are a bunch of little scoops in here, so I'll do a thread calling attention to them:

https://twitter.com/ddayen/status/1618252548556853248

HHS has been sitting *for a year* on a decision to march in and seize the patent of a drug that's been sold in the U.S. for 4-6x the price of the rest of the industrialized world, after saying they would have an answer in a month:

A DOT official was asked point-blank if they were considering banning unreasonable fees, per a government-wide initiative. The officials said "I am not aware of that and it would be a big departure for the department."

Read 5 tweets

David Dayen

@ddayen

Jan 24

Durbin opening statement: "Ticketing and live entertainment markets lack competition and are dominated by a single entity."
Well there you have it. Durbin condemns the 2010 Live Nation-TM merger and says the consent decree failed.

Graham, the Republican ranking member: "consolidation of power in the hands of few can create problems for many"

Graham: "Social media is one area where the public desires us to do something. If you're looking for something to do together this is something we should focus on"

Read 92 tweets

David Dayen

@ddayen

Jan 23

@leee_harris

1/ Our new print issue is all about implementing the Biden agenda, the moment where too many people look away but which decides whether policy is a success or a failure. And we begin with a dynamite piece from @leee_harris. prospect.org/environment/20…

2/ A major problem with the Inflation Reduction Act is that it runs its energy investments through the tax code. This means that most of the funding does not come up front, forcing individuals and cities wanting to make the transition to come up with financing.

3/ This has long been an issue, as the people most in need of an energy upgrade have the least amount of savings to finance it. Earlier efforts to do this kind of financing were rather predatory, like the PACE system. (From me in Vice in 2017) vice.com/en/article/paq…

Read 10 tweets

David Dayen

@ddayen

Jan 5

https://twitter.com/noamscheiber/status/1611014858387951617

This was clear from yesterday's enforcement action on noncompetes that used Section 5 authority. It's been in the works for months. Biden first talked about noncompetes in 2018 at a Brookings event.

https://twitter.com/noamscheiber/status/1611014858387951617

The key here is that the FTC is writing a Section 5 rule; they essentially dumped this authority after the 1970s. The agency's unfair methods of competition guidance in November, using voluminous case law, set the stage for this.

This kicks off a fight. The libertarian pro-business view is that the FTC isn't allowed to write rules under Section 5, and there will be a lawsuit.
The FTC's policy statement on this is very good.
ftc.gov/legal-library/…

Read 5 tweets