Question

Suppose Lana lives in a small college town where, every weekend, 10 independent food cart owners set up shop and sell hot dogs on the street. They are popular with students, and they frequently locate where students hang out. One evening, Lana overhears the conversation of three of the food cart owners as they conspire to raise the price of their hot dogs. That same night, she reports the conversation to the Department of Justice via their antitrust complaint website. Why might the Department of Justice NOT send an agent to investigate the collusion attempt that Lana witnessed?

a. There is not a law that prohibits collusion among competitors.

b. Antitrust laws are applicable only to collusion attempts that occur on federal government property and the collusion attempt occurred on private property.

c. Collusion among small competitors like street vendors is actually beneficial to consumers.

d. The Department of Justice lacks the resources to investigate every case of collusion reported.

e. To ensure small businesses a fair shot at competing with larger businesses, President Obama issued an official executive order to the Department of Justice in 2012 to stop pursuing antitrust violations involving small businesses only.

Answer

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