Antitrust has not escaped the chaos rendered by the 2024 presidential election. The Neo-Brandeisian “anti-monopolists” that led the Biden antitrust agencies are out and the “MAGA antitrusters” are in. While it is not yet clear how this toggle from far-left to far-right populist ideology will redefine antitrust, Democrats who recognize its intrinsic value in promoting consumer, worker, and entrepreneurial freedom in a market economy have an important task. That is, to shape an antitrust agenda for combatting high prices that drive up the cost of living and expanding access to essential goods and services.
Antitrust enforcement is famously agnostic in promoting competition across the economy. But as working voters who broke for the GOP in 2024 made clear, they care most about where the bulk of their consumer dollars go: food, healthcare, housing, insurance and retirement, and transportation. Many of the markets that make up these massive sectors, however, lack robust competition while antitrust enforcement lags behind. They are also particularly hard-hit by Trump tariff polices. Moreover, price increases have exceeded average rates of inflation, further driving up the cost of living.
As revelations about the failure of Biden economic policy continue to unfurl, new issues are moving to the center of the radar. The so-called “abundance” agenda in one. Abundance focuses on improving access to essential goods and services. This includes lowering administrative hurdles to creating infrastructure to support expanded housing, transportation, and energy resources. Abundance also seeks to reduce burdens on the innovation system that constrain research & development, financing, and commercialization for new technologies and products.
