One of the most important trends in America has been the rise of bigger and bigger corporations. Over the last twenty years, three quarters of industries have gotten more concentrated, largely through corporate mergers. And since the 1980s, we've seen a myriad of clearly anticompetitive deals get approved, like Ticketmaster-Live Nation, Google-DoubleClick, Northrop-ATK, Facebook-Instagram, CVS-Caremark-Aetna, Hertz-Dollar, American-U.S. Airways, and Disney-Fox.

We know now that when firms turn into mega-monopolies, wages go down, there's less innovation, customer service gets worse, and there are fewer and fewer small businesses.

Fortunately, the government is trying to end the wave of mergers that is causing so much harm. And you can help! 

Last month, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Antitrust Division released the draft merger guidelines — an important document that influences how judges understand merger policy — to bring in all the new learning and evidence discovered by economists, business people, consumers, and scholars over the last decade.

By issuing draft merger guidelines to replace both the outdated 2010 guidelines and the already-withdrawn vertical guidelines, the FTC and DOJ are building on their efforts to restore the agencies' ability to combat one of the main drivers of corporate consolidation: mergers & acquisitions.

When the agencies initially announced that they would update them, thousands of people across the country chimed in to talk about how corporate consolidation has affected them. The agencies also conducted four listening sessions that highlighted the potential for mergers and acquisitions to undermine open, vibrant, and competitive markets in industries ranging from food and agriculture to health care. 

You can read the 13 guidelines on the FTC website here. 

Before they finalize these guidelines, the agencies are seeking public comment. They want to hear what everyday people, like workers, businesspeople, engineers, artists, consumers, farmers, or anyone else, think about the new guidelines. That means you!

We've set up this website to help you submit a comment. Here are some questions to help you frame your answer. Have you or someone you know been through a merger? What was it like? What do you think about the 13 guidelines? Do you think the government should be more aggressive in stopping mergers?

Give policymakers a piece of your mind. After all, it's your government.

When you fill out the form on this page and click “next” your comment will be submitted to the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department Antitrust Division. You do not need to include your name and contact information if you feel uncomfortable doing so, but we encourage you to personalize your comment, and have included draft text you can adapt. The last day to submit a comment is September 18, 2023.

For more information on the merger guideline comment request from the FTC/DOJ, click HERE.