by GROVER NORQUIST at dailycaller.com
The Federal Trade Commission is at the forefront of President Joe Biden’s mission to increase government control over the economy.
Formerly a bipartisan commission, FTC Chair Lina Khan has driven Republicans out of the agency and is pursuing her mission to put every industry in a “Mother-May-I” relationship with the federal government. Congress needs to step in and get the FTC back on track before it is too late.
Historically, the FTC is a five-member commission, with three commissioners from the president’s party and two commissioners from the minority party. The FTC has the power to regulate all aspects of the economy, from large corporations to mom-and-pop corner stores.
Enter Khan – a 34-year old left-wing academic with precious little private sector experience apart from a stint at a far-left nonprofit. Biden tricked Congress into confirming Khan as FTC commissioner early in his presidency, only for Biden to elevate Khan to chair the agency behind closed doors. Since Biden’s bait-and-switch, all hell has broken loose.
Khan is an architect of a far-left movement that blames American businesses for problems that the government directly causes or exacerbates. Paying nearly 5 bucks a gallon for gas? Must be corporate greed. Can’t afford to put food on the table? Blame your money-grubbing grocer, not inflation caused by reckless Democrat spending.
Khan wants to “solve” these problems by threatening companies with antitrust action if they do not bend to her will. Khan has blasted the free market as a “product of metaphysical forces,” and said the government does not do enough to shape “economic outcomes.” Khan’s deputy Rebecca Slaughter has gone further, calling for a “diversity, equity, and anti-racist” antitrust agenda. These are clear signals to the business community – go woke, or we’ll make you go broke.