“The first example of regulation was the trains. The trains formed trusts in an attempt to corner the market and keep the prices of fares elevated. Someone always broke the trust agreements, however, and lowered fares or gave discounts to shippers so that they could profit.
After lots of price ‘instability’ (where prices were consistently falling) those lines that were getting out-competed in the market turned to the government for help. The ICC was formed. The ICC were railroad men with the authority of government behind them, their job was to enforce the trust agreements and keep peeps in line so as not to affect falling prices.
The regulatory state was born (and cronyism) and this example is followed by ALL subsequent regulatory agencies which amount to businesses attempting to pre-empt the creative destruction of free-market innovation by capturing gov privileges and creating market immune cartels. This IS the regulatory state. The sickness of yeh mixed economy.
Every ill you attribute to capitalism is really a more sophisticated old-world ism of socializing production so that some can maintain market share without earning it. NOT CAPITALISM.”
@MarkRPellegrino
