Sen. Lee Comments on Antitrust Investigations

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Tuesday, responding to news stories discussing potential antitrust investigations of high-tech firms.

“Antitrust is a highly technical inquiry, not something that lends itself to easy generalizations or blanket condemnations,” Sen. Lee said. “This is why such investigations are best left to the antitrust agencies rather than Congress.”

“That said,” Sen. Lee continued, “the leaks coming from various government agencies about possible antitrust investigations only undermine the effectiveness of our nation’s antitrust laws. They also call into question why we have two federal agencies responsible for civil antitrust enforcement. The substantive antitrust issues faced by tech firms share many similarities and there is a real danger that a divergence in enforcement policy between the Antitrust Division and the FTC will only result in confusion. We should be seeking more harmony in antitrust enforcement, not less.”

An online version of this release can be found here.  

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With the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2019 drawing large crowds June 11-13 and the gaming industry bringing in over $130 billion per year globally, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019’s Best Cities for Gamers as well as accompanying videos. 

To determine the best places to be a serious gamer, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 23 key indicators of gamer-friendliness. The data ranges from average internet speed to video-game stores per capita to number of esports tournaments.
 

Top 20 Cities for Gamers

1

Seattle, WA

11

Las Vegas, NV

2

Irvine, CA

12

San Diego, CA

3

Los Angeles, CA

13

Washington, DC

4

Orlando, FL

14

Denver, CO

5

Atlanta, GA

15

Fremont, CA

6

New York, NY

16

Miami, FL

7

San Jose, CA

17

Houston, TX

8

San Francisco, CA

18

Anaheim, CA

9

Austin, TX

19

Sacramento, CA

10

Raleigh, NC

20

Dallas, TX

 
Best vs. Worst

• Las Vegas has the most video-game stores per square root of the population, 0.0558, which is 46.5 times more than in Boston, the city with the fewest at 0.0012.
   
• Washington, D.C. and North Las Vegas, Nevada, have the highest average download speed, 76 Mbps, which is 3.2 times higher than in Buffalo, New York, the city with the lowest at 24 Mbps.
   
• Gilbert, Arizona, has the highest share of households with a broadband connection, 96.00 percent, which is 1.5 times higher than in Laredo, Texas, the city with the lowest at 64.90 percent.
   
• Santa Ana, California, has the cheapest monthly internet cost, $40.00, which is 2.8 times cheaper than in Anchorage, Alaska, the city with the most expensive at $110.35.

To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit: 
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-for-gamers/36270/

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ExcelinEd Report Examines How Industry Credentials Benefit Students After Graduation

New research studies the effect of credential attainment on long-term student success in Florida, Indiana and Kentucky

Today ExcelinEd released Where Credentials Meet the Market, which builds on the foundation laid in Credentials Matter: A National Landscape to examine the impact of credential attainment on long-term student outcomes. This second report in an ongoing research partnership with Burning Glass Technologies analyzes the credentials students earn in high school and their impact on students’ high school completion, community college enrollment and completion, and wages. It provides insights into the return on investment of earning a credential in Florida, Indiana and Kentucky—three states that collect rich, student-level data.

“Students should graduate from high school prepared to be successful in college and their careers. One way to set students up for success is by improving the quality of career and technical education programs, and many states are turning to industry-recognized credentials as part of the solution.”

Patricia Levesque, CEO, ExcelinEd

“Although this research is limited to three states, our findings indicate the significant potential career boost that industry credentials can offer students nationally. These promising results should provide a powerful incentive for states to invest in well aligned credentials.”

Matt Sigelman, CEO, Burning Glass Techologies

Overall, the report finds that earning a credential is associated with positive outcomes related to high school completion, community college enrollment and completion, and wages.

Secondary Educational Outcomes

• Earning a credential is associated with an increase in the probability of graduating from high school on time in Florida, Indiana and Kentucky. This effect is stronger for female CTE students as compared to male CTE students.

Postsecondary Educational Outcomes

• In Florida, earning a credential is associated with an increase in the probability of CTE students enrolling in and graduating from community college and enrolling in university. There is no effect in Florida of earning a credential on CTE students graduating from the university system.
• In Kentucky, for CTE students, earning a credential is associated with an increase in the probability of earning an associate’s degree. The effect of earning a credential on earning a bachelor’s degree is negative for CTE students.*
• Indiana was not able to provide data to assess postsecondary educational outcomes.

Labor Market Outcomes

• In both states that provided wage data, Indiana and Florida, earning a credential is correlated with higher wages for workers who earn at least $20,000 annually and are at least 24 years old. Of the three types of credentials earned in Florida, certifications, licenses and software credentials, only certifications were associated with a wage increase.

Credentials Matter is the most comprehensive examination of industry credential attainment in high school CTE programs. The findings and recommendations represent a critical first step to helping a range of stakeholders understand the current landscape of credentials earned and evaluate whether those credentials have currency in the job market. At the high school level, credentials can include assessments, certifications and government-issued licenses.
 
For more information on this research and to view interactive maps and data tables, visit CredentialsMatter.org.
 
*Postsecondary outcomes need additional research to determine if rigor of study or cost of higher education for credential earners has an impact on bachelor’s degree attainment.  

Credentials Matter was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors.