Supremes Let Frauds Walk, Cut FTC’s $Grub Heart Out

The WSJ noted how the “Supreme Court Cuts FTC Powers to Recover Ill-Gotten Gains” at Consumers’ expense after re-interpreting a law on the books since 1973. The question might be, what took so long for a successful challenge and the usually divided Justices’ unanimous decision?

As the editors noted, there’s no doubt the “ruling deals a significant blow to a longstanding FTC approach against companies that cheat consumers.” Somehow, after the FTC obtaining mega-millions in “damages” from business scammers for all these years, the unanimous court decided the 1973 enabling law was limited to the agency “enjoining” the evil-doers from doing further evil. If the FTC wants cash, it needs to go thru a cumbersome administrative process “aimed first at halting fraudulent conduct;” OR, ask Congress for explicit authority to get money damages from the courts.

Right. A perpetually divided Congress can’t agree on the type of peanuts they’re eating nowadays and they’re going to revisit 1973 now? The FTC, of course, is dumbfounded. They had argued the administrative approach advised by the Justices would be “slow and ineffective.” The response? “Tell Congress to pass the honey roasted peanuts…”

Davd Soul