The American Conservative (TAC) may need to change its name to The American Khanservative — referring to those of the right whose view of antitrust policy is closer to those of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan than Ron Paul. For example, TAC recently ran a piece entitled Enforce the Robinson-Patman Act for a Better Economy by Daniel Hanley, senior legal analyst at the pro-regulation Open Markets Institute. As the title suggests, Hanley supports Lina Khan’s efforts to revive the Robinson-Patman Act.
This New Deal-era law forbids “price discrimination.” Specifically, the law forbids large retailers from requiring manufacturers to provide discounts to the retailer in order to sell their products in the retailer’s stores. The law was enacted to protect local “mom and pop” stores from large retailers like JC Penny’s, Woolworths, and A&P. Hanley. Lina Khan and her allies on the left and right think the government needs to return to the days when it vigorously enforced Robinson-Patman.
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