Show me the money: The Tipline for 17 November 2020

There is a lot that the Federal Trade Commission could have done with $21.3 million. It could have purchased each staff member a mid-sized sedan. It could have bought out two-thirds of the Washington Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg contract to have him pitch for the agency’s softball team. Instead, the FTC spent the money on outside economic consulting groups over the last fiscal year. The seven-digit figure accounts for about 6% of the commission’s total budget and is a growing expense that the agency says poses a “top risk” going forward. In today’s Tipline, GCR USA takes a look at the FTC’s latest financial report plus an $11 billion banking merger.