BREAK UP MONOPOLIES
TOO MUCH POWER IN TOO FEW HANDS
America is supposed to have a free market.
But there is nothing free about a market where a handful of giant corporations control what we buy, what we pay, where we work, what information we see, and increasingly, even who gets to compete.
For decades, Washington has allowed mergers, private equity roll-ups, corporate consolidation, and Wall Street concentration to hollow out competition.
The result is simple: Fewer choices. Higher prices. Lower wages. Less innovation. More power for billionaires and giant corporations.
Our plan will take on monopoly power, strengthen antitrust enforcement, stop anti-competitive mergers before they happen, and make sure no corporation or financial institution becomes too powerful to challenge.
Stop Monopoly Mergers Before They Happen
For too long, regulators have waited until industries are already dominated by a few giant companies before acting.
We will reverse that.
Our plan will strengthen the Clayton Act and Sherman Antitrust Act so regulators can block mergers and acquisitions that create excessive market concentration before the damage is done.
That includes:
Lowering the threshold for blocking mergers in already concentrated industries
Cracking down on companies that buy dozens of smaller competitors over time
Scrutinizing acquisitions designed to eliminate future competitors
Blocking mergers that reduce competition for workers, not just consumers
Considering the impact of mergers on wages, innovation, local communities, and political power
A corporation should not be allowed to buy its way out of competition.
Crack Down on Private Equity Roll-Ups
Private equity firms increasingly buy up businesses one by one until they dominate entire local or regional markets.
Hospitals.
Nursing homes.
Veterinary clinics.
Housing.
Retail.
Manufacturing.
Local businesses.
Individually, each deal may appear small.
Together, they can create enormous market power.
Our plan will require regulators to examine the cumulative impact of serial acquisitions, not just each transaction in isolation.
If a private equity firm is quietly building a monopoly through dozens of smaller purchases, regulators should have the power to stop it.
Take On Wall Street’s Concentration of Power
A small number of giant financial institutions now own major stakes across competing companies in the same industries.
That raises a basic question: How competitive is a market when the same giant investors own pieces of everybody?
Our plan will require greater disclosure and scrutiny when large institutional investors hold significant stakes in multiple competing firms.
Major investors will have to disclose potential conflicts and explain how their ownership could affect competition.
No financial institution should be able to quietly accumulate enough influence to shape an entire industry.
End Backroom Corporate Control
Corporate ownership should not be hidden behind layers of shell companies, derivatives, private funds, and complicated financial structures.
We will strengthen beneficial ownership disclosure so regulators and the public can see who actually controls major corporations and investments.
Large investors will face stronger disclosure requirements for:
Major ownership stakes
Derivative positions that create hidden influence
Voting power
Short positions
Securities lending
Corporate board relationships
If someone controls a company, the public has a right to know.
Stop the Same People From Controlling Competing Companies
It should be obvious:
The same people should not be sitting on the boards of companies that are supposed to be competing against each other.
We will aggressively enforce and strengthen laws against interlocking corporate directorates and close loopholes that allow investment firms to place representatives on boards across competing businesses.
Competition cannot exist when the same financial interests are sitting on both sides of the table.
Break Big Tech’s Grip on the Market
Digital monopolies present a new form of corporate power.
A dominant platform should not be able to control the marketplace and compete against the businesses that depend on that marketplace at the same time.
Our plan will prohibit anti-competitive practices such as:
Self-preferencing by dominant platforms
Using proprietary marketplace data to undermine competitors
Acquiring emerging rivals simply to eliminate them
Locking users and businesses into closed ecosystems
Using control of data to prevent meaningful competition
Big Tech should have to compete like everyone else.
Protect Workers, Not Just Consumers
For decades, antitrust enforcement has focused too narrowly on whether a merger immediately raises prices.
That ignores enormous economic harms.
Corporate concentration can also:
Suppress wages
Eliminate jobs
Weaken unions
Reduce innovation
Destroy local businesses
Limit consumer choice
Concentrate political power
Our antitrust laws should protect workers, consumers, entrepreneurs, communities, and democracy, not just short-term prices.
Give Antitrust Cops the Power to Do Their Jobs
We cannot take on trillion-dollar corporations with regulators that are understaffed, underfunded, and afraid to enforce the law.
We will significantly increase resources for the:
Federal Trade Commission
Department of Justice Antitrust Division
Securities and Exchange Commission
We will create specialized enforcement teams focused on monopoly power, private equity, digital markets, securities transactions, and corporate concentration.
And regulators will be instructed to act proactively rather than waiting until monopoly power has already devastated an industry.
Break Up Monopolies When Necessary
Some companies have become so dominant that fines are simply another cost of doing business.
When a corporation has obtained or maintained monopoly power through anti-competitive conduct, regulators must have the ability to pursue structural remedies.
That means breaking companies up when necessary.
No corporation should be too big to regulate.
No billionaire should be too powerful to challenge.
And no company should be allowed to become so dominant that competitors, workers, consumers, and even elected governments are afraid to stand up to it.
Get Big Money Out of Politics
Economic monopoly and political monopoly go hand in hand.
When enormous corporate fortunes can be converted directly into political influence, concentrated economic power becomes concentrated political power.
That is why breaking up monopolies must go together with campaign-finance reform, stronger disclosure laws, and limits on the ability of billionaires and corporations to buy political influence.
A democracy cannot function when a handful of people have more political power because they have more money.
Markets Should Serve People
Competition is supposed to reward better ideas, better products, and better service.
It is not supposed to reward whoever has enough money to buy every competitor.
Small businesses should have a fair shot.
Workers should have choices about where they work.
Consumers should have choices about what they buy.
Entrepreneurs should be able to compete without being crushed by a monopoly before they ever get started.
Break up monopoly power. Stop corporate consolidation. Rein in Wall Street. And put markets back in the hands of the people who actually make the economy work.
