In October 2016 AT&T announced that it intended to buy Time Warner Cable for $84.5 billion. The merger would create one of the biggest media companies in the history of the U.S. The announcement sparked criticism from Congressional Democrats and Republicans who argued that huge corporate mergers create monopolies which prevent competition. Since President Obama took office his administration has prevented several mega-mergers from taking place including Sprint and T-Mobile, AT&T and T-Mobile and Allergan and Pfizer. In 2015 $3.8 trillion dollar’s worth of mergers and acquisitions occurred which made it the largest year for corporate consolidation in the history of the U.S. Proponents of mergers argue that the government should not interfere with corporations and the free market should be allowed to run its own course.
Statistics are shown for this demographic
Zipcode
Response rates from 2.1k New York voters.
72% Yes |
28% No |
60% Yes |
20% No |
8% Yes, if the merged corporation would have more than 50% of the market share |
4% No, we already have sufficient anti-trust laws in place to prevent monopolies |
2% Yes, and the government should break up existing mega corporations |
4% No, and the government should not interfere with the free market |
2% Yes, if the merged corporation would have more than 25% of the market share |
Trend of support over time for each answer from 2.1k New York voters.
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Trend of how important this issue is for 2.1k New York voters.
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Unique answers from New York voters whose views went beyond the provided options.
@585W43R4yrs4Y
No, this is an obstruction of the free market (it lessens competition and drives up prices) and a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
@5P39V6Y4yrs4Y
Success is success. This is America the land of opportunity so if someone does really well for themselves then great! They shouldn't be limited or further taxed
@5PS3CTY4yrs4Y
End of lobbying confirmed, then legislation should be removed that benefits the larger established corporations and stifles start-up companies. That way the market will manage itself as the small guy can offer a cost effective solution free from endless laws and red tape that is unnecessary and costly to both services and jobs
@5P54YPW4yrs4Y
@8JCJLWV4yrs4Y
Yes, this should be considered carefully because monopoly power is important in a democracy, and "natural monopolies" appear to be increasing.
@9FGCG261yr1Y
No, but they should be increasingly taxed so smaller companies can compete
@5PDC4WB4yrs4Y
this is a trick question; we already have sufficient anti-trust laws in place to prevent monopolies; the media blitz is not altruisticaly revealing that the current attempt at a merger is simply being put through the paces of those very same anti-trust laws. so in this case "the government" is actually doing what it is supposed to
@5NNHLMT4yrs4Y
No, Monopolies are a result of government intervention
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