Expenditures on consumer protection and business competition

In a world that is increasingly dominated by ubiquitous, wireless and mobile communication applications, consumers and businesses need continuous protection from fraud and unfair competition. Since 2007, budgeted expenditures incurred by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) aimed at protecting the public have been categorised into objectives which are disclosed on the web. This study examined the annual expenditures patterns of those budgeted categories and found that the monetary amount and priority rankings of the respective categories were quite predictable. In other words the two goals and their related objectives appear to have received consistent priority and levels of funding. Within the nine categories, the cost per Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) can be quite different. Overall, it can also be said that based on the amounts approved by Congress during the period studied, the FTC is funded well because the changes are significant. Therefore, consumers and businesses can likewise expect the same and probably more effective protection from future fraud that can be perpetrated using mobile devices and unfair global competitive practices.