Are Monopolies Still Illegal?

With the jobless rate dropping to 2009 levels, because people are giving up and are no longer counted, corporations are having a merry holiday.  Lets make ourselves a giant incestuous conglomerate.   Check out WIKI:  United States antitrust law, The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior (monopoly) and unfair business practices.  As always, corporations elect Republicans.  Republicans hire the same marketing gurus that sell you cold drinks and beer.  You just gotta have what they sell.  They sell you the most effective distractions in this country.  Public services are socialism.  That’s an easy sell to the uneducated.  Muslims are the enemy, that’s another easy sell to the uneducated.  Republicans want to make it harder to get a decent education, unless they can make money selling student loans.  Republicans want to give their campaign  contributors reduced tax responsibility, and they can, because they sell their lies like Bud sells beer.

Got this in my email from Washington Post today.

Verizon Wireless deal with cable firms draws concern from regulators

Verizon Wireless has reached an unorthodox deal with three major cable companies that could transform the way consumers get access to TV, cellphones and the Internet, setting up a consortium of firms with enormous power over mobile and home entertainment.

The agreement among the former rivals immediately drew concern from regulators, according to a person familiar with the matter. Advocacy groups said the alliance could limit choices for consumers.

Wests Encyclopedia of Law:  ANTITRUST LAW

Legislation enacted by the federal and various state governments to regulate trade and commerce by preventing unlawful restraints, price-fixing, and monopolies, to promote competition, and to encourage the production of quality goods and services at the lowest prices, with the primary goal of safeguarding public welfare by ensuring that consumer demands will be met by the manufacture and sale of goods at reasonable prices.

Antitrust law seeks to make businesses compete fairly. It has had a serious effect on business practices and the organization of U.S. industry. Premised on the belief that free trade benefits the economy, businesses, and consumers alike, the law forbids several types of restraint of trade and monopolization. These fall into four main areas: agreements between competitors, contractual arrangements between sellers and buyers, the pursuit or maintenance of monopoly power, and mergers.

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 (15 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq.) is the basis for antitrust law, and many states have modeled their own statutes upon it. As weaknesses in the Sherman Act became evident, Congress added amendments to it at various times through 1950. The most important are the Clayton Act of 1914 (15 U.S.C.A. § 12 et seq.) and the Robinson-Patman Act of 1936 (15 U.S.C.A. § 13 et seq.). Congress also created a regulatory agency to administrate and enforce the law, under the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 (15 U.S.C.A. §§ 41–58). In an ongoing analysis influenced by economic, intellectual, and political changes, the U.S. Supreme Court has had the leading role in shaping how these laws are applied.

Enforcement of antitrust law depends largely on two agencies, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which may issue cease and desist orders to violators, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, which can litigate. Private parties may also bring civil suits. Violations of the Sherman Act are felonies carrying fines of up to $10 million for corporations, and fines of up to $350,000 and prison sentences of up to three years for persons. The federal government, states, and individuals can collect triple the amount of damages they have suffered as a result of injuries.