Politicians say they pass laws to “protect Americans from big business.”
People like hearing that. Many don’t like big business.
Unfortunately, most people don’t realize that those laws often help big business while hurting consumers.
“Big business and big government are not enemies like a lot of people think they are,” says American Enterprise Institute fellow Tim Carney in my new video. “When government gets bigger, whether it’s through spending or taxes or regulation, the big guys, big business benefits.”
Consider the $15 minimum wage. People think of that law as pro-worker. But big companies like Walmart, Costco, and Amazon lobby in favor of it. Why?
Because big business can afford robots. Their competitors often cannot.
“Capitalism is a cutthroat thing,” says Carney. “But this isn’t capitalism. When you turn to government to regulate your competitors out of business, that’s where we need to say this is wrong.”
“Maybe you’re too cynical,” I suggest. “Maybe [Amazon founder Jeff] Bezos really just does want people to be paid more.”- READ MORE
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