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The Post’s Ponderous Posturing on Progressive Policy

By Dylan Gyauch-Lewis
September 30, 2024
Image: The Washington Post has assembled a lineup of neoliberal pundits, including Eduardo Porter and Catherine Rampell.
Washington Post columnist Eduardo Porter, in his recent piece, “Corporations are not destroying America,” seems to be taking cues on economic policy from his colleague Catherine Rampell. To Porter’s credit, he, contra Rampell, seems to actually read the materials he’s writing about. Yet the entire piece is emblematic of columns favored by the Post: ones... Read More

A Flawed Divestiture, Dynamic Pricing on Steroids, and Worker Harms: Why the Kroger/Albertsons Merger Should Be Stopped

By Corey Lipton
September 27, 2024
The FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent two of the country’s largest supermarket chains, Kroger and Albertsons, from merging. The case was heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, where U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson, a former Oregon Supreme Court justice, will soon render a verdict. The merger would... Read More

In Fighting Amazon’s Alleged Monopoly, the FTC Finds Support from Other Courts

By Ron Knox
September 13, 2024
Just a few weeks shy of its one-year anniversary of the Federal Trade Commission’s landmark monopolization case against Amazon, the government and the world’s largest e-commerce marketplace await a crucial decision: Whether Judge John Chun will dismiss the case before it ever reaches trial.  Amazon’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit has been sitting in front... Read More

How to Make the Remedy in the Google Search Case Future Proof

By Tim Cowen
August 29, 2024
Professor Tim Wu, former White House advisor on antitrust, offered remedies following Judge Mehta’s decision in the U.S. Google Search case. He identified both Google’s revenue-sharing agreements that exclude competitors and its access to certain “choke points” as a basis for remedies. A divestment order of Chrome and the Android operating system was proposed, as well as an access remedy to Google’s browser, data and A.I. technologies. It is hard... Read More

It’s Time for the Pay of College Football Coaches to Change

By David Berri
August 25, 2024
College athletics are most definitely changing. For more than a century, the NCAA has maintained absolute control over the athletes’ labor market and restricted their pay to only a scholarship. But it appears that soon athletes will be paid a share of the revenue that college sports generate. This means that the expense report of... Read More

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: A Lightly Edited Rendition of Google’s Closing Arguments at the Epic Remedies Hearing

By Laurel Kilgour
August 21, 2024
Image: At the remedies hearing, Google warned that judges should not be central planners.
On the fourteenth of August in the year 2024, The Sling’s humble scribe came into possession of a facsimile of a transcript meticulously typed up by a certain Court Reporter—by way of an avowed acquaintance of the loyal manicurist of said reporter—in the heart of that certain city renowned for its association with that certain... Read More

The Fed Chair Thinks Wall Street Should Have Veto Power over Financial Regulations. That’s a Mistake.

By Kenny Stancil
August 15, 2024
Image: Jerome Powell’s political independence is in doubt. Source: Carlos Barria/Reuters
Economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman took to the pages of the gray lady on August 13 to stress the importance of central bank independence. The piece was a response to recent comments from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, both of whom have argued that presidents should have a “say” in the Federal Reserve’s interest... Read More

The Antitrust Case Against SpaceX

By Hal Singer
August 8, 2024
Image: An antitrust case against SpaceX might soon have liftoff. Photo credit: Joe Skipper/Reuters
In late May, the New York Times ran a story by Eric Lipton titled “Elon Musk Dominates Space Launch. Rivals Are Calling Foul.” In response, the antitrust community largely shrugged its shoulders. I went back and give it a read, along with related stories in the Wall Street Journal (“Elon Musk’s SpaceX Now Has a... Read More

Ken Rogoff Remains Pervasive Even Though His Pro-Austerity Paper Was Debunked Over Ten Years Ago

By Dylan Gyauch-Lewis
June 26, 2024
Image: That Rogoff continues to be treated as a credible voice on economic issues is a striking indictment of our media ecosystem. (Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
Did you ever notice that the same neoliberal economists are quoted routinely by economics reporters in the mainstream press? Take Ken Rogoff. He guest authors pieces on public policy at Brookings, is a professor at Harvard, semi-frequently authors op-eds, and is widely quoted in the media. While not quite as high profile as his colleagues... Read More

The Post’s Ponderous Posturing on Progressive Policy

By Dylan Gyauch-Lewis
September 30, 2024
Image: The Washington Post has assembled a lineup of neoliberal pundits, including Eduardo Porter and Catherine Rampell.
Washington Post columnist Eduardo Porter, in his recent piece, “Corporations are not destroying America,” seems to be taking cues on economic policy from his colleague Catherine Rampell. To Porter’s credit, he, contra Rampell, seems to actually read the materials he’s writing about. Yet the entire piece is emblematic of columns favored by the Post: ones... Read More

A Flawed Divestiture, Dynamic Pricing on Steroids, and Worker Harms: Why the Kroger/Albertsons Merger Should Be Stopped

By Corey Lipton
September 27, 2024

The FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent two of the country’s largest supermarket chains, Kroger and Albertsons, from merging. The case was heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, where U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson, a former Oregon Supreme Court justice, will soon render a verdict. The merger would... Read More

How to Make the Remedy in the Google Search Case Future Proof

By Tim Cowen
August 29, 2024

Professor Tim Wu, former White House advisor on antitrust, offered remedies following Judge Mehta’s decision in the U.S. Google Search case. He identified both Google’s revenue-sharing agreements that exclude competitors and its access to certain “choke points” as a basis for remedies. A divestment order of Chrome and the Android operating system was proposed, as well as an access remedy to Google’s browser, data and A.I. technologies. It is hard... Read More

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: A Lightly Edited Rendition of Google’s Closing Arguments at the Epic Remedies Hearing

By Laurel Kilgour
August 21, 2024

On the fourteenth of August in the year 2024, The Sling’s humble scribe came into possession of a facsimile of a transcript meticulously typed up by a certain Court Reporter—by way of an avowed acquaintance of the loyal manicurist of said reporter—in the heart of that certain city renowned for its association with that certain... Read More

Image: At the remedies hearing, Google warned that judges should not be central planners.

The Fed Chair Thinks Wall Street Should Have Veto Power over Financial Regulations. That’s a Mistake.

By Kenny Stancil
August 15, 2024

Economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman took to the pages of the gray lady on August 13 to stress the importance of central bank independence. The piece was a response to recent comments from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, both of whom have argued that presidents should have a “say” in the Federal Reserve’s interest... Read More

Image: Jerome Powell’s political independence is in doubt. Source: Carlos Barria/Reuters

The Antitrust Case Against SpaceX

By Hal Singer
August 8, 2024

In late May, the New York Times ran a story by Eric Lipton titled “Elon Musk Dominates Space Launch. Rivals Are Calling Foul.” In response, the antitrust community largely shrugged its shoulders. I went back and give it a read, along with related stories in the Wall Street Journal (“Elon Musk’s SpaceX Now Has a... Read More

Image: An antitrust case against SpaceX might soon have liftoff. Photo credit: Joe Skipper/Reuters

Ken Rogoff Remains Pervasive Even Though His Pro-Austerity Paper Was Debunked Over Ten Years Ago

By Dylan Gyauch-Lewis
June 26, 2024

Did you ever notice that the same neoliberal economists are quoted routinely by economics reporters in the mainstream press? Take Ken Rogoff. He guest authors pieces on public policy at Brookings, is a professor at Harvard, semi-frequently authors op-eds, and is widely quoted in the media. While not quite as high profile as his colleagues... Read More

Image: That Rogoff continues to be treated as a credible voice on economic issues is a striking indictment of our media ecosystem. (Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

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