According to the GoodRx Research Team, 832 brand drugs have increased by an average of 4.5% since December 31, 2020. Americans pay around $1,200 for prescription drugs a year. The continuing rise of prescription drug prices has a significant impact on many Americans, especially during a global pandemic. In the latest PawnGuru poll, about 20% of respondents say they […]
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DC Should Prioritize Consumers, Not Big is Bad
On May 25, Washington D.C.’s Attorney General, Karl A. Racine, announced he filed a lawsuit against the tech giant Amazon for allegedly violating the district’s antitrust laws. In the press release following the filing, Racine claimed Amazon’s practices were “harming competition, stifling innovation, and illegally tilting the playing field in its favor.” Unfortunately for consumers […]
Antitrust Explainer
A package of five bills is set to be introduced by Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee. These bills seek to fundamentally change how the federal government approaches big tech and are being released at a time when Republicans and Democrats seek to reign in big tech and its influence. Rather than employing the consumer […]
The Hill: House Transportation Bill a Big Loser For Consumers
Congressional members on the Transportation Committee have much work to do on their proposed infrastructure bill. One first step, across all political allegiances, should be to drop unnecessary regulatory provisions in the transportation legislation that would only serve to increase consumer prices by increasing the costs of transporting goods by rail. As the economy works […]
Town Hall: Cyberattacks Aren’t Going Anywhere – We Need a National Strategy to Fight Them
US lawmakers have recently begun discussing the need for a federal plan to find out what types of cash payments are made after ransomware attacks. Cyberattacks have been ramping up in recent months, with each one underscoring the nation’s under-preparedness. The digital infrastructure of private companies and government organizations have plenty of vulnerabilities, and their responses […]
AI Can Provide a Solution to the Problem of Credit Invisibility
Today, around 26 million American consumers are considered credit invisible, meaning they do not have a credit record needed to obtain credit cards, a loan, or a mortgage even though they may be financially responsible. For Americans who are credit invisible, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in determining credit worthiness would remove a substantial […]
Capping Interest Rates Will Only Harm Consumers
With Senator Sharrod Brown (D-OH) now serving as chair of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, legislation could probably be put forward to cap interest payments on loans. While the entire proposal is yet to be released, any move to cap interest rates can be seen as part of Senator Brown’s effort to […]
Inside Sources: Klobuchar’s Antitrust Bill Reveals Lack of Understanding of Today’s Big Tech Economy
While legislators will undoubtedly continue their attacks on big tech into the foreseeable future, it is clear that Klobuchar’s bill is underpinned by a flawed understanding of the tech industry’s current state, the consumer benefits that tech companies generate, and the support they have provided to small businesses. These factors alone should be enough to […]
Consumer Impact Must Remain the Focus for Mergers and Acquisitions
It seems that each week, self-proclaimed trustbusters on Capitol Hill line up to attack big tech for alleged antitrust violations. Back in the firing line this week is Amazon after the company announced it was purchasing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios for $8.45 billion. If the deal goes ahead, it would be the “second-largest acquisition in Amazon’s […]
Increasing Internet Regulations Will Hurt Consumers
The President Biden’s impending appointment of a new Democratic chair to the FCC will will undoubtedly rekindle an effort to reimpose public utility-style regulations on internet services. The return of these internet regulations, referred to as net neutrality, would be incredibly harmful to consumers and the broader economy. The passage of the Open Internet Order […]