Inspired by Myth of the Rational Voter author and satellite radio enthusiast Bryan Caplan's blog post, here are my thoughts on the XM-Sirius Merger. An excerpt:

After seventeen months of deliberation, investigation, and debate, it appears that the federal government will finally allow satellite radio providers XM and Sirius to merge. The regulatory hurdles the companies had to overcome were ostensibly in place to protect consumers, but the effect of the regulations were to waste resources and delay a merger that will benefit consumers. Regulatory barriers are an impediment to growth in poor countries. They are also an impediment to growth in the United States.

According to economic theory, monopolies are bad for consumers because they produce too little and charge too much. These regulations are supposed to preserve competition and protect consumers. Regulations passed by the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and other agencies are allegedly "pro-consumer," but as George Mason University economist Bryan Caplan suggests, the XM-Sirius merger debate is "a classic case of Orwellian 'pro-consumer [regulations] that discourage innovation and equate 'the public interest' with 'that which does not interest the public.'"

ATSRTWT.