patrick.net

Patrick says

https://thepricklypear.org/rethinking-regulatory-capture/

I'm currently reading (on and off - I still have to work) "The Prize" by Daniel Yergin. It's very similar to the article. In the case of unfettered competition, companies operating in a given industry face a race to the bottom and financial ruin. They then enlist government regulation to maintain a certain level of profit while simultaneously erecting insurmountable barriers to new competition.

Hell, just look at what's happing with the pharma companies and the FDA. The regulatory agencies exist to enhance the profitability of these corporations.

Where the article goes wrong is neglecting the latter part of the process whereby regulation goes beyond insuring minimum profits and instead actively increases profit and control by the established corporations. Just look at the example of the East India company in england. They bought all the MP's with shares, then had the english government provide military support when "governing" India became too expensive.

stereotomy says

They bought all the MP's with shares, then had the english government provide military support when "governing" India became too expensive.

Yes. and like the New World colonies, that entitled the risk of being taken over by "The Crown."

https://substack.com/home/post/p-152066403

If Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, he will undoubtedly strike some blows against regulatory capture. Whatever he does in this position can only be an improvement over what we have now, and it is possible that some of his reforms may even endure beyond his own tenure. But he has the chance to do much more.

The regulatory state is a Gordian knot, and it is not enough to work at untangling its various components. It needs to be sliced through once and for all. The way to do this is simple: Abolish the FDA, abolish the NIH, abolish the CDC. End all medical licensing and accreditation. Get the government out of health care everywhere.

Perhaps this sounds like a political impossibility. And perhaps it is. But until very recently, RFK, Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services was a political impossibility. I submit that we do not know what is possible and what is not.