Government is not supposed to be the strong-arm service for rentseekers.
That horse left the barn long ago. In the late 1820s, Cornelius Vanderbilt started building steamships and operating ferry lines around the New York region. Shrewd and aggressive, he became a dominant force in the industry by engaging in fierce fare wars with his rivals. His competitors were heavily subsidized by the federal government and built floating palaces which only the wealthiest Americans could afford. Vanderbilt built a low-cost, unsubsidized carrier for the common people and became America's wealthiest man. He created the "People Express" of the day.