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Should Major League Baseball (MLB) enjoy an anti-trust exemption?
I say "Not no, but hell no!"
Yes, we know the exemption was granted by the SC back in the 1920s, and reaffirmed by Congress in 1998. The reasons are still specious, at best. They didn't make any sense then, and they make even less sense now. IMO, it is simply big business cronyism at its most disgusting.
Essentially, the American people, via Congress and the courts, are allowing a private business to not follow the law of the land, in this case anti-trust laws. Baseball, while my favorite game, is certainly not critical, so that's not a reason to have the exemption. There's nothing special about baseball that makes it different than any other sport, business-wise.
So, if the American people are going give a break to a private business, and allow them to run counter to the law of the land, shouldn't the people get something of value in return? For anyone who might feel the desire to defend the anti-trust exemption, please explain what the American people get of value in return.
Also, here is a website that gives a very good thumbnail sketch of the issue: Baseball should be stripped of antitrust exemption One can delve very deep into this issue if one wants to, but this website does a good job of getting the gist of it.
Note: I am putting this in the poll forum instead of the sports forum because, even though baseball is part of the issue, the real issue is business, politics, and fairness to the citizen.
I say "Not no, but hell no!"
Yes, we know the exemption was granted by the SC back in the 1920s, and reaffirmed by Congress in 1998. The reasons are still specious, at best. They didn't make any sense then, and they make even less sense now. IMO, it is simply big business cronyism at its most disgusting.
Essentially, the American people, via Congress and the courts, are allowing a private business to not follow the law of the land, in this case anti-trust laws. Baseball, while my favorite game, is certainly not critical, so that's not a reason to have the exemption. There's nothing special about baseball that makes it different than any other sport, business-wise.
So, if the American people are going give a break to a private business, and allow them to run counter to the law of the land, shouldn't the people get something of value in return? For anyone who might feel the desire to defend the anti-trust exemption, please explain what the American people get of value in return.
Also, here is a website that gives a very good thumbnail sketch of the issue: Baseball should be stripped of antitrust exemption One can delve very deep into this issue if one wants to, but this website does a good job of getting the gist of it.
Note: I am putting this in the poll forum instead of the sports forum because, even though baseball is part of the issue, the real issue is business, politics, and fairness to the citizen.