[rellimpank]

In the nineteenth century, Congress had been reluctant to regulate business. It often granted businesses absurd subsidies (for example, to encourage the railroads to expand across the U.S.), and regulated matters involving navigation, but for the most part, the governing theory was laissez-faire: leave the marketplace alone. In the twentieth century, Congress became increasingly interested in regulating business on a national scale--and there are several theories that attempt to explain why. One of the most intriguing is that presented in Gabriel Kolko's Triumph of Conservativism. Kolko, a socialist historian, unintentionally produced a spectacular defense of laissez-faire capitalism, demonstrating that most of the reason why Congress went into a frenzy of economic regulation in the Progressive Era (1900-16) was because the robber barons of the time were unable to figure out how to monopolize major industries--and so they needed the federal government's assistance.4 --

The above quote from Clayton Cramer's column in Shotgun News indicates it's not a new problem, either--(bold is mine)--

[Zon]

The above quote from Clayton Cramer's column in Shotgun News indicates it's not a new problem, either--(bold is mine)--

The excerpt posted below from this link, The Destruction of a Wealth and Jobs Creator by Parasitical-Elites, is an excellent read.

The Destruction of a Wealth and Jobs
Creator by Parasitical-Elites

James J. Hill was a 19th-century railroad entrepreneur. Hill was an integrated thinker who broke out of a restricted, one-country mode and began pushing into a worldwide mode. Unfortunately, just as Hill achieved great success in the American railroad industry and began spearheading an international expansion, his worldwide growth was snuffed out by glory-seeking politicians. The story of James J. Hill is documented in the book The Myth of the Robber Barons by Burton W. Folsom, Jr.

 

Political Entrepreneurs Versus Market Entrepreneurs

In that book, Folsom identifies how throughout history there have been two distinct types of entrepreneurs: political entrepreneurs and market entrepreneurs. Political entrepreneurs seek profits by working with the government to get subsidies, grants, and special privileges. In other words, political entrepreneurs seek success through political pull. In contrast, market entrepreneurs seek success by producing increasingly improved products and services at increasingly lower costs.

The Destruction of a Wealth and Jobs Creator by Parasitical-Elites