It’s hard to turn on the television these days without seeing a commercial for a car or truck. The holiday shopping season always offers up a flurry of ads and great deals on automobiles. But are big holiday discounts enough to offset the huge markup that we’re forced to pay as a result of anti-consumer state laws?
These laws force auto manufacturers to sell their products to middlemen — better known as car dealers -- before the vehicles can be sold to consumers. In an attempt to shield the dealerships from competitors, state governments are also shielding consumers from low prices. In fact, these policies inflate car prices by as much as 30 percent, according to some economists.
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