Washington, D.C. — The American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement in response to the introduction of Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act of 2022 by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Mondaire Jones.

“The Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act of 2022 takes direct aim at the record-shattering merger frenzy now supercharging the concentration of wealth and power in America,” said Sarah Miller, Executive Director of the American Economic Liberties Project. “This legislation prioritizes the needs of working people, honest businesses, and consumers, clearly prohibiting the largest mergers and providing antitrust enforcers with important tools to block and unwind bad deals. It offers critical support to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice as the agencies work to confront the current merger boom. And it remedies many of the most serious issues with current federal merger policy. Congress should pass it immediately.”

What You Need To Know: Mergers Are On The Rise, Harming Our Economy 

Mergers Are At An All-Time High 

Merger activity reached an all-time high of $5.8 trillion in 2021. Private equity spent more than $1 trillion on deals over the course of the year—up 110 percent compared to 2020. Banks announced a larger total deal value in mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2021 than in all of 2020.

Mergers Drive Higher Prices 

The merger frenzy has driven price increases across America. Mergers between companies in concentrated markets result in an average price increase of 7 percent and corporate consolidation costs the average American household $5,000 a year in lost purchasing power.

Mergers Drive Lower Wages, Higher Unemployment

Years before the historic merger frenzy in 2021, the average American’s salary could have been $10,000 higher if employers were less concentrated. That concentration is only becoming more intense, and the increase in mergers has led to multiple mass layoff events with thousands of workers laid-off at a time. This concentration has reduced employment today by nearly 13 percent according to economic estimates.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.