Well, it’s about time: Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants your assault sandwiches.
Yes, these big, corporate sandwiches of war are going to put peaceful, small sandwich shops out of existence. Sandwich control, now! And $5 foot-longs, begone!
In a Monday Op-Ed titled “Elizabeth Warren wants to break up Big Sandwich,” Tom Joyce of the Washington Examiner noted that Warren was striking back at the fact that private equity firm Roark Capital is purchasing Subway.
What’s the big deal? Well, Roark already owns several sandwich joints: Arby’s, Jimmy John’s, McAlister’s Deli and Schlotzky’s.
That’s a problem, according to the senior senator from Massachusetts and regulatrix extraordinaire.
“We don’t need another private equity deal that could lead to higher food prices for consumers,” Warren said in a social media statement Sunday.
“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.”
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
Warren linked to a Nov. 21 article from Politico in which the outlet noted the FTC “is investigating if the $10 billion purchase of Subway creates a sandwich shop monopoly” and that the investigation “is emblematic of the agency’s increased focus under FTC Chair Lina Khan on both deal-making by private equity firms and prices of consumer staples.”
Why is Warren’s antipathy toward “big sandwich” a problem? Consider that she’s a prominent member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where — as per her website — she “works on legislation related to financial services and the economy.”
In other words, this is more than an empty threat. And yes, some conservatives were dismissive of said threat:
How much did potbelly’s pay you to say this?
— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) November 26, 2023
Sándwich monopoly? You do a great parody of Sen Warren
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 26, 2023
However, as House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio warned, this isn’t the first time Warren and the Democrats have tried a grab of something.
“First, they came for your guns,” Jordan posted Wednesday.
[firefly_poll]
“Then, they came for your gas cars. Then, they came for you gas stoves. Then, they came for your heaters. Then, they came for your pizza. Now, they’re coming for your sandwiches.
“Today’s Left is out of control,” he concluded.
First, they came for your guns.
Then, they came for your gas cars.
Then, they came for you gas stoves.
Then, they came for your heaters.
Then, they came for your pizza.
Now, they’re coming for your sandwiches.
Today’s Left is out of control. https://t.co/Et0VsUnnAg
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) November 29, 2023
And, in an opinion piece by James Freeman in The Wall Street Journal published on Monday, the author and Journal editor said that Warren “is cheering on some equally misguided Biden administration regulators.”
Warren, he noted, “has finally acknowledged the disappointing results from ObamaCare’s attempt to reduce prices by regulating insurer profits. But don’t expect the senator to stop promoting misguided market interventions, no matter how ludicrous.”
He then pointed to Joyce’s “big sandwich” Op-Ed in the Examiner as to why this is so ludicrous: “A monopoly exists when one company has total control of a commodity or service. Creating a sandwich shop monopoly is nearly impossible in a country of over 330 million people. Independent sandwich shops, grocery stores, restaurants, food trucks, and sandwich chains not owned by Roark Capital exist throughout the country, including Massachusetts,” Joyce wrote.
“Also, most people, including children, know how to make a sandwich. Many people even pack homemade sandwiches for lunch when they go to work or school. That said, if someone wanted to start a sandwich shop, he or she could succeed by offering different or better options than shops such as Subway.”
Joyce also had some advice for the senator: “Perhaps Warren should pay more attention to her state and the needs of her constituents.”
But that’s common sense — something in short supply in the People’s Republic of Massachusetts. To their most prominent elected official, this represents nothing more than an attack on the venerable sandwich. This is a woman, after all, with her hands in many regulatory pies.
Heck, she’ll probably target pies next. Look out, Marie Callender: Your days on top are numbered.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.