Many of our regulatory bodies have been utterly captured by biggest companies that they are supposed to regulate, and they are tamping down innovation (which cr

Many of our regulatory bodies have been utterly captured by biggest companies that they are supposed to regulate, and they are tamping down innovation (which creates jobs), increasing prices, and decreasing quality. Both the Democrats and Republicans have been engaging too heavily in crony capitalism for decades, and this is the result. How it works: Regulations that are supposed to protect the public end up being a cudgel with which to beat down small companies that can't afford to deal with an onslaught of often unjustified demands for regulatory compliance. When the only companies who can afford to comply are the big ones, it squeezes out new market entrants. This decreases competition. It's bad for all but a handful of people. How it should work: Generally (not always), there should be a direct relationship between company size and the amount of regulations which apply (i.e. more regulations as you get bigger, fewer if you're small). We need a heavy injection of honesty into our regulatory agencies. Restoring balance to the system would unleash a wave of economic growth. When I was shilling for Senator Sanders in 2015 and 2016, I often said that I was equally excited for both his policies and the fact that he would make a lot of good appointments, which would clean a lot of crap out the rent-seeking regulatory system, which would be great for the economy. Unfortunately, we're going to have to wait. But I hope this gets on more people's radars as one of the reasons why the middle class has been shrinking and real incomes going down for four straight decades.