US customers tired of constantly treated as ‘suckers’, asserts President Biden

On Wednesday, the White House extended its campaign against junk fees to the rental housing industry.

As part of an ongoing effort to assist American consumers, it also announced a crackdown on price-fixing in the food and agricultural markets and unveiled draft merger guidelines.

At the fifth meeting of his 18-agency Competition Council on Wednesday at the White House, President Joe Biden—whose administration has made attacks on corporate greed and power a central theme—explained the government's most recent initiatives.

President Biden emphasized the need to continue bringing down inflation by telling the Cabinet and other council members that it was about fundamental fairness and that the public was sick of being used as pawns.

The new actions were taken close to the anniversary of the council's founding executive order by Biden and the government-wide campaign against anti-competitive behavior. It has already targeted consumer junk fees, ocean shipping, and meatpacking.

The median American household, according to the White House, loses up to $5,000 a year as a result of higher prices and lower wages due to four decades of misguided economic philosophy due to increasing concentration in three-fourths of American industries.

According to President Biden, the US government could not accept bad mergers that resulted in widespread layoffs, increased costs, and fewer options for consumers and workers. He continued by saying that, as he had previously stated, capitalism without competition was exploitation.

The administration would employ all available means to stop anti-competitive behavior, according to Hannah Garden Monheit, the new director of Competition Council Policy at the National Economic Council.

Despite widespread public and bipartisan support for the junk fee crackdown, the industry has complained about the increased regulation and accused the Biden administration of "regulatory overreach."