The Incoherence of the White House’s Anti- “Junk Fees” Agenda

The White House has launched new fronts in its war on market prices. Last week, the Biden administration announced a "Strike Force" to "crack down" on "illegal and unfair pricing." The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will apparently oversee a new interagency effort "to root out and stop illegal corporate behavior that hikes prices on American families through anti- competitive, unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent business practices." What does this mean? In late 2022, with inflation taking off, the Biden administration declared it was going after so- called "junk fees," defined then as charges that were "designed either to confuse or deceive consumers or to take advantage of lock- in or other forms of situational market power." The opening salvo incorporated attacks on the way airlines charge families on basic economy tickets to guarantee seats together, hotel resort fees, early termination fees for communication services, and overdraft and credit card late payment fees that the White House deemed "excessive."