1 week Ago By Paul Kibry
KINGSTON, N.Y. — U.
S. Rep. Pat Ryan has helped launch a new caucus to fight “corporate greed and promote a pro-worker, pro-consumer, and pro-small business economic agenda,” his office said Wednesday.
Ryan, D-Gardiner, who represents the 18th Congressional District, said he has joined other Democrats to form the Monopoly Busters Caucus . “When I talk with folks in the Hudson Valley, the number one thing I hear is frustration,” Ryan said in a statement. “Frustration that even though they’re working hard and doing everything that’s asked of them, they can’t afford to provide for their family – housing, health care, gas, groceries, utilities.
” “It’s inherently un-American that only a select few are able to live out the American dream,” Ryan added. “The reason for this is clear – in every one of those industries, we’ve let monopolies drive up costs and drive down quality, all while making record breaking profits. We’re gonna fight back against these big and powerful corporations, hold the bad actors accountable, and ultimately put power back where it belongs: with the American people.
” Ryan’s office said that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the inflation that followed, there was consistent reporting of large corporations “price-gouging consumers, something they could do thanks to near-monopoly consolidation in many industries.” For instance, in the cases of beef, baby food, pasta, and soda, more than 80 percent of the market is controlled by four companies, Ryan’s office said “Rigorous enforcement of our antitrust laws can fix this consolidation and ensure that our markets work for all people,” the office said. The Monopoly Busters Caucus represents a large swath of the ideological makeup of the Democratic Party, Ryan’s office said.
In mid-March, President Donald Trump fired two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission, intensifying efforts to exert his administration’s control over independent agencies across the government. Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said they’d been dismissed illegally and would sue to block Trump’s order. They also said they consider themselves still part of the FTC, though whether they will still have access to their offices and logistical tools like email going forward was unclear.
Removing Bedoya and Slaughter could free up space on the five-member FTC for new commissioners loyal to Trump and his priorities and policies. Ryan’s office did not think the firings had anything to do with the formation of the Monopoly Busters Caucus. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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