Regulatory capture

A nice review by Charles Hugh Smith

In the great scheme of civilization, governments arose to consolidate resources, wealth and power, and protect these scarce and valuable assets from outsiders.Outsiders included invading hordes, competing states and self-serving entities within the realm guided by one goal: to maximize private gain by any means available.

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democracy is in effect a wide-open auction of favors in which corporations bid for loopholes inserted in 700-page congressional bills, regulatory tweaks that favor their interests at the expense of competitors and innovators that might threaten their monopoly, etc.