sherman antitrust act?

Question

i have just read in a magazine 8/23/07 that the supreme court has reversed its decision on the 96 year old ban on price fixing which was an automatic violation of the sherman antitrust act . it is now legal for manufacturers and distributors to agree and set prices. in my openion this is going to effect the price of goods tremendousely.discount stores may no longer be able to buy at lower prices if the prices are fixed by the manufacturers.this will raise all retail prices. i have not heard anyone on the news talking about this has my head been a hole? how do you feel,and have heard of this.

Answer 1

Yes, they did rule that way. I don't remember just what the case was or who the plaintiff's were though.

Personally, I think they really missed the mark on this one. The court bought the manufacturer's argument that sometimes being able to set the price instead of allowing competition may actually bring down prices for consumers in certain cases. Total BS. Anybody with even a vague understanding of economics knows less competition means higher prices.

Walmart and other mega stores with enough purchasing power will still be able to get discounts on most things. But in general it will lead to higher retail prices. I think you will probably see the most notable effect being in high end electronic in the near term, but that's just my conjecture.

Answer 2

I looked - couldn't find anything about it. Maybe post again in a week or so . . .