The FTC’s Sunk-Cost Social Network

Daniel J. Gilman June 5, 2026

Truth on the Market View Original Source

• 
  Back
  to Top

The first rule of holes is supposed to be: stop digging. The sunk-cost fallacy is realized when we keep digging anyway—and then call it resolve.

We—people—often have a hard time letting a bad thing go. That’s true even for those who are well acquainted with the sunk-cost fallacy and should know better. I’ve been there. I’ve felt that misguided determination, and I’ve felt the consequences.

The same is true of the people who run federal agencies, including the two with which I’m most familiar: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Which brings me to . . .

Read the full piece here.