A re Chrysler and General Motors "too big to fail"? Was American International Group "too big to fail"? Was CitiBank "too big to fail"? Was Lehman Brothers "too big to fail"? Were Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae "too big to fail"?

Why is no one paying attention to the common thread here?

One purpose of antitrust laws is to keep firms from becoming too big and from dominating markets. Yet time after time the federal government has approved mergers and buyouts that allowed giant firms to be created and has avoided attempting to break them up. Now we are told they are "too big to fail."

Is Boeing "too big to fail"? Are American Airlines and Delta "too big to fail"? Is General Electric "too big to fail"?

One way to ensure that companies do not gain open access to hard-earned taxpayer money in another bailout is to make sure that they can't be described as "too big to fail." Isn't it time to break up the large companies into multitudes of smaller ones and vigorously enforce strong antitrust measures? Who will speak truth to power here?

 

Doug Hall
Chichester

 

You read this week by Arnie Arnesen