CEI Today: Airline merger, Wikileaks on trade, and Michigan right-to-work
Today in the News
REGULATORS EXTRACT CONCESSIONS IN AIRLINE MERGER – WAYNE CREWS
As is now commonplace, American Airlines needed to relent to conditions imposed on the merger with US Airways to secure Department of Justice approval, primarily relinquishing airport slots. Regulators should refrain from their habit of using the merger review process to extract a parade of concessions in virtually every business combination. That is not a free market, it is not capitalism. Antitrust policy should allow aggressive competitive responses to every combination.
WIKILEAKS –> TRADE – FRAN SMITH
Globalwarming.org: Wikileaks’ Latest — Draft IP Chapter in Major Trade Agreement
Wikileaks has made another big splash yesterday — not about spying, but about a multinational trade agreement currently being negotiated. Wikileaks published a draft chapter on intellectual property that is part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), now being negotiated with 12 countries.
While few commentators at this stage have produced substantive comments on the leaked draft, almost all media reports refer to the trade negotiations as being “secret,” and “secretively negotiated.” Some even assert that only a few people in each country are privy to the draft documents. That’s actually not true.
RIGHT TO WORK – TREY KOVACS
Workplacechoice.org: New Committee to Investigate Michigan Teachers Union Right to Work Violations
Although Michigan’s right-to-work legislation took effect in March of this year, teachers have raised concerns that unions are using strong-arm tactics that prohibit them from exercising their rights under the law.