President Biden says executive order will level playing field for small businesses, benefit consumers | Lehigh Valley Regional News

BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania – President Joe Biden signed a comprehensive order on Friday to increase competition in the US economy.

“We have been experimenting with giant corporations accumulating more and more power for 40 years now, and what’s in it for us? Less growth, weakened investments, fewer small businesses,” said Biden.

The contract is aimed at managing the steep surge in business consolidations over the past 20 years, stepping up antitrust enforcement, reducing non-compete agreements and reducing the cost of things like prescriptions, shipping and broadband.

“Instead of competing for consumers, they consume their competitors. Instead of competing for workers, they are finding ways to get the upper hand on the workers, and too often the government has actually made it difficult for companies to compete, “Biden said.

The White House says the move will cut costs, raise wages and improve benefits.

“All in all, between rising prices, lower wages and a lack of competition, it costs the average American household $ 5,000 a year,” said Biden.

“I think that number sounds about right,” said Ahmed Rahman, a labor economist at Lehigh University.

“I think there is no question that it has undermined both the American worker’s purchasing power and the American worker’s diversity of choice,” Rahman said.

“For most people, they have a broadband provider or two or a hospital or two to go to near them.”

Warren Clark is a co-owner of Domaci, a furniture store on Main Street in Bethlehem. As a small business owner, he says any help is good, especially the measures to reduce shipping costs.

“We don’t have the luxury of a Home Depot that just bought its own cargo ship for them to handle,” said Clark.

But this approach to band-aid can’t prevent it from happening again.

“I don’t think it’s a fundamental solution to the dilemma of the American capitalist system,” Rahman said.