We don't need another private equity deal that could lead to higher food prices for consumers. The @FTC is right to investigate whether the purchase of @SUBWAY by the same firm that owns @jimmyjohns and @McAlistersDeli creates a sandwich shop monopoly. https://t.co/mAFuuFYA5A

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) November 26, 2023

Roark already owns the sandwich-serving chains Arby’s, Jimmy Johns, McAlister’s Deli, and Schlotzky’s. Warren said that adding Subway to that list could create a “sandwich shop monopoly.” …

Her attack on America’s alleged “sandwich shop monopoly” scores new points for pettiness. It also shows just how broad (and therefore meaningless) the word “monopoly” has become in modern political discourse—and at Lina Kahn’s FTC.

It’s easy to assert that something is a monopoly if you narrow your focus on the market or product being discussed. There are, after all, only so many national fast-casual restaurant chains focused on serving deli sandwiches. If Roark snatches up Subway, then ownership of that particular ham slice of the market may in fact look pretty consolidated.

But from the casual consumer’s perspective, competition remains robust. There are endless options for getting a sandwich without paying a Roark-owned enterprise. Grocery stores, convenience stores, coffee shops, non-chain delis, and more all sell some variety of sandwich. And yes, non-Roark-owned national sandwich chains still exist.

[I’m not a fan of Warren at all, but I don’t think this is a ‘petty’ concern. Conservatives and libertarians have maintained a laissez-faire attitude toward market consolidation for decades, and the result has been the rise of monopolistic combines like the Big Tech platforms and the concentration of power into fewer and fewer hands. That is a big problem, both economically and politically. — Ed]