Growing in size: Bulky bears and the FTC's authority
This week featured some of our latest and greatest FTC analysis.
Everyone in the world seems to be watching “Squid Game” on Netflix as of late, but I’ve been following another competition: Fat Bear Week. The Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska hosts this annual contest, a battle royale of which brown bear can pack on the most pounds before hibernation season in the winter. To make these prodigious gains, they catch and chow down on salmon. Many of us humans have been eating salmon to lose our COVID pounds — the difference is that the bears can inhale over 30 fish per day. It’s like if you or I ate over 200 salmon filets over the course of 24 hours. Ouch.
This year’s Fat Bear Week winner is a portly gentleman named “480 Otis.” (The “480” is an identifier, not his weight — these chunky bears often weigh in around one thousand pounds in the winter.) Since the Fat Bear Week competition is set up in March Madness-style brackets, 480 Otis only had to beat one opponent, 151 Walker, in the final vote, which he did by over six thousand votes. After four victories over the last several years, it’s safe to say Mr. 480 Otis is America’s most respected bodybuilding expert.
FTC. Last week, Berin and Corbin filed comments explaining why the FTC has no legal authority to issue binding rules to define unfair methods of competition. No one else went into any detail on this vital question. Indeed, only three other commenters even mentioned it — and only briefly. This week, Berin summarized our lengthy comments in a Twitter thread.
Antitrust. Former FTC commissioner Joshua Wright and our own Corbin Barthold were the featured speakers at an event called “Special Interest Over Public Interest: Why a Return to Antitrust’s Rent-Seeking Past Will Fail Consumers.” Josh and Corbin discussed what’s happening at the FTC these days, the importance of clear antitrust rules, and how the FTC’s attempts to expand its authority are likely to fare in court (spoiler alert: poorly). For good measure, Corbin also talked about Zipf’s law, double-rod pendulums, and why complex societies collapse. A hat tip to Corbin’s former employer, Washington Legal Foundation, for putting on the event and inviting Corbin to appear alongside one of the nation’s top antitrust experts.