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An effort by the Biden administration to review antitrust guidelines, advocate for consumer rights and protect farmers from food monopolies is a somewhat overdue and welcome examination of competition in our capitalist society.

The initiatives announced last month will seek public input on changing the guidelines for the government to bring antitrust cases and modify the rules of mergers. They would also investigate hidden fees charged by landlords and determine if large agribusiness food companies are price gouging.

President Joe Biden has said the aim is to increase competition in the American economy, thereby helping to keep prices in check, and create a level playing field for workers and consumers and encourage small business startups. Where there is more competition and markets are not dominated by one or two big companies, more people are likely to start small businesses.

The administration says its efforts so far have led to the formation of 10.5 million small businesses in 2021 and 2022, the most ever, as the pandemic impacted workplaces and substantial relief checks flowed to Americans. Taking credit for small business formation may be a stretch, but the idea of looking at the state of American capitalism will be a healthy exercise and one even past Democratic administrations did not consider.

Large business associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Republicans say the interference of the government in the marketplace will only increase costs for business that will be passed on in higher prices for consumers. But cost increases are passed on to consumers automatically when there is no competition.

Competition should be the goal. Capitalism doesn’t work if there isn’t a robust marketplace that includes many buyers and sellers.

History suggests that competition can indeed spur entrepreneurship and the lack thereof can create disastrous impacts on consumers. After Republican President Theodore Roosevelt took to his “trust busting” in the early 1900s, there was an era of strong business and wage growth until the 1929 stock market crash. But a lack of antitrust enforcement from the 1980s until present also left some businesses to price gouge due to lack of competition.

As the pandemic waned, the five main shipping container companies jacked up prices as consumers created robust demand for all kinds of products as they spent their relief checks. The companies made $300 billion profit in 2022 compared to $64 billion the year before. And as four companies controlled 90% of the baby formula market, a disastrous shortage occurred when one plant had to shut down due to product contamination concerns.

The White House Competition Council established by Biden in 2021 has been pushing an all-sector approach to encouraging competition. And there have been some successes so far.

Congress passed a bipartisan plan to rein in shipping container companies by giving the Federal Maritime Commission more oversight over how the companies operate. The administration’s efforts also involved working with the Food and Drug Administration to allow for the sale of hearing aids over the counter. It has plans to crack down on “junk fees” in everything from rental cars to rental housing.

The effort to create more competition in American capitalism is a worthy goal. It’s more important now in the era of Big Tech, Big Pharma and massive conglomerates like Amazon.

And sustaining competition in a capitalist society shouldn’t be a partisan issue.

— Mankato Free Press, Aug. 9