THE RISE OF MONOPOLIES

Big businesses have been governing our society and dictating our economic abilities since Rockefeller and Carnegie stepped onto the economic ladder in the late 19th century. While those two robber barons faced increasingly destructive antitrust laws, the economic obstacles that the government thought they expunged through those laws are becoming progressively visible in companies today, most notably Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook. 

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After a careful investigation of the four companies, lawmakers declared that they had each abused their assertive powers by setting prices and establishing rules for commerce, advertising, and social networking. To fix these economic instabilities, lawmakers recommended dissolving each company and writing new antitrust laws that would be more stringent and enforceable. The recommendation, however, failed to gain full House approval, seeing a split in party lines among the House Antitrust Subcommittee. 

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Democrats came back to the table suggesting “structural separations” and an exclusion for the tech-giants to join companies similar from the ones they previously dominated. They also recommended antitrust laws that would block the four companies from buying other larger companies. Some Republicans actually agreed with the antitrust proposal, but laughed at the proposition for Congress to intervene and dictate the restructuring and business models of the companies. Most Republicans denounced all Democrat propositions. 

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Whether or not the government will be able to navigate the partisan backdrop of these economic issues is a question that remains unanswered. But dealing with polar political and economic beliefs is something that the government is very used to handling, which is why the issue is safe in their hands.