Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE / @lauraflandersandfriends
Is 2024 the year of trust-busting? This bipartisan issue of small versus big is a fight taking place on the streets and in the federal and state courts; led by grassroots movements and consumer protest. The Biden administration has stepped up anti-trust action, but the number of merger filings is also up. What should we make of this moment? To help answer that question, Laura is joined by two experts on anti-trust action: Stacy Mitchell, Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Matt Stoller, author of “Goliath: The Hundred Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy” and publisher of the newsletter “BIG” on Substack. Mitchell has played a leading role in today’s growing anti-monopoly movement and her work informed the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon in 2023. Stoller is the former policy advisor to the Senate Budget Committee and also worked for a member of the Financial Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives during the financial crisis. In this episode, they unpack how decades of corporate consolidation did not lead to cheaper prices, better service or more jobs, but instead worsened our local economies, the quality of our lives and democracy. How have people power and government action together brought about a shift? Is it real? Hear why one guest calls this moment a delayed policy reaction to the 2008 financial crisis, plus a commentary from Laura on the last time Democrats took on monopoly power this actively - and what happened to that.
“What we are seeing in this administration is we actually have people in place who are making huge change and are using the tools to the full extent that they have . . . There is a lot of grassroots support for the idea of dealing with corporate power. Everybody is feeling this . . .” - Stacy Mitchell
“It's very clear that not having competition in these markets kills . . . In areas like hospices and elder care, dialysis or other parts of healthcare people die. And also in things like Boeing, people die.” - Matt Stoller
Guests:
Stacy Mitchell: Co-Executive Director, Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Matt Stoller: Research Director, American Economic Liberties Project; Publisher, BIG & Author, Goliath: The Hundred Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy
🎧PODCAST: Prefer to listen? Subscribe to the LF&F podcast for new episodes every week (Available 4/15): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/...
✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 4/17): / 102403900
📚Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP*: “Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy” by Matt Stoller: bookshop.org/a/22992/97815011...
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)
Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.
DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate/ or consider becoming a PATREON partner at / lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.
🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña
Thumbnail graphic by Inequality Media.