Leveling the Playing Field: Advocating for Fair and Competitive Markets

When the marketplace works as it should, it’s a wonderful thing for consumers. Free and fair competition generates value in the form of higher quality and affordable pricing. Consumers have the power of their pocketbooks to reward those companies that offer a square deal and force others to do better. It’s a system that works most of the time.

But sometimes markets run astray of these fundamental principles. They need a nudge, or something a little more forceful, to get back on track. This is where the National Consumers League (NCL) has been so valuable for so long, sounding the alarm when corporate malefactors distort our markets, and keeping the pressure on until solutions are put in place.

After having had the privilege of chairing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), becoming affiliated with NCL seemed a natural step because of the similarities of the two organizations’ missions. The FTC is all about keeping the marketplace free of distortions such as monopolization and deceptive advertising that put consumers at an unfair disadvantage. And this is what NCL has been doing throughout its century-plus history, insisting upon corporate accountability, the preservation of competitive marketplaces, and strong and sensible regulations to protect consumers.

In recent years, we’ve seen NCL’s influential voice and determined actions come into play where they are needed most. For example:

● NCL has been a leading force in protecting consumers who buy tickets for live events, shining a spotlight on Live Nation- Ticketmaster’s monopolization of the marketplace and the excessive costs that lack of competition is imposing upon ticket buyers. NCL has been on the front lines of this fight, encouraging both legislation and antitrust action by the federal government.

● Lack of competition in the healthcare industry has been a long-standing problem and one that NCL continues to address. Not only have persistent hospital consolidations led to higher costs for patients, but the control of the prescription drug marketplace by three giant pharmacy benefit managers is pushing consumers to buy higher-priced medicines and denying them access to cheaper generics and biosimilars. NCL was a critical player in encouraging the FTC to open an investigation into pharmacy benefit managers practices.

● When this nation experienced an infant formula crisis from both contamination and shortage, NCL persistently cited the fact that only three manufacturers control 98% of the market—and that this problem could occur again if we don’t incentivize more companies to compete.

● And it was NCL that raised the alarm that more than 90% of the nation’s largest airports are dominated by just one or two airlines, leading Americans to pay higher travel costs than consumers in other countries. Also, NCL is out front urging the Department of Transportation to force airlines to be clearer and less deceptive about their add-on fees so that consumers can make apples-to-apples price comparisons.

These are just a few examples of the essential work that NCL is performing to complement the efforts of the FTC and other federal and state agencies and, in many cases, to draw the regulators’ attention to anticompetitive situations that warrant action.

As I mentioned in my board chair letter at the beginning of this book, NCL has done this with a staff and resources immensely smaller than the industries it’s working to hold accountable. NCL punches far above its weight. Impressive seems like an understatement in describing not only the great work NCL is doing on behalf of Americans today, but also the great work it has been doing over the past 125 years. NCL is truly a vigilant guardian, never leaving its post in making sure that marketplaces work as they should for generations of consumers.

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Jon Leibowitz is former Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and President of the National Consumers League Board of Directors.