Word: ftc
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...American Medical Association. The agency charged that the A.M.A's code of ethics, by forbidding advertising, has stifled competition between doctors and thus violates antitrust laws. The case highlighted a sudden new interest by the five-member commission in medicine and advertising: in other late-December actions, the FTC moved to bring about wider advertising of low-priced eyeglasses and to force Warner-Lambert Co. to tell consumers that Listerine mouthwash does not prevent colds or sore throats...
...three moves, the most important is the one against the A.M.A. It is really an opening salvo by the FTC against no-advertising rules by lawyers, architects, veterinarians and other professionals besides doctors. The commission's argument is that these codes of ethics prevent the consumer from learning about the type and cost of available services. That in turn lessens competition and tends to fix prices illegally, the FTC contends...
Lawyer Engman does not use the term conspiracy lightly. He means it in its strict antitrust sense. Engman's FTC has been quick-too quick, some business critics say-to deploy the key weapon that the commission shares with the Justice Department: the power to press antitrust charges. To date, Engman's legal staff has brought no fewer than 31 antitrust suits, most notably its 1973 complaint against Exxon and seven other big U.S. oil companies. The FTC's argument: the firms control so much of the petroleum business-from wellhead through refinery to gasoline pump-that...
Businessmen, Engman observes wryly, "love free enterprise but hate competition, which is something for the other guy." He sees the FTC as "the policeman on the economic beat," charged with ensuring that free competition survives. Yet though he wants smaller businesses to survive, he has no sympathy for inefficiency. In fact, his assault on outmoded federal regulatory agencies stems from his belief that they perpetuate poor business practices. He argues that the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Interstate Commerce Commission have allowed the regulated transportation industries to become "federal protectorates living in a cozy world of 'cost-plus...
Critics complain that Engman's emphasis on antitrust may mire the FTC in years of litigation, to the detriment of its consumer watchdog activities. But defenders of his legal activism point to the fact that for the first time in years, top law-school graduates are seeking jobs at the FTC. One current question in Washington is how long Engman will be there to lead them. It would be no surprise to some Engman watchers if, when Michigan Democratic Senator Philip Hart retires after his current term, Native Son Engman tries for his seat...