Mergers of companies of that size need to be approached with the presumption that they will substantially lessen competition, because they almost always do. The

Mergers of companies of that size need to be approached with the presumption that they will substantially lessen competition, because they almost always do. The companies should have to go to extreme lengths to prove that the merger will not substantially lessen competition and hence are not prohibited by the Clayton Act. These companies get off far too easily when it comes to scrutiny of mergers, when a straightforward reading of the Clayton Act would prohibit nearly any merger of large companies that operate in similar industries.