> And the worst part here is that as corporations grow larger and become more effective at injecting themselves into positions of influence, government agencies

> And the worst part here is that as corporations grow larger and become more effective at injecting themselves into positions of influence, government agencies can be expected to become less reliable. A current example of that might be the FAA allowing aircraft manufacturers to self-certify that their planes are safe, as happened with the Boeing 737-Max fiasco. With regards to your specific leaded-petrol example, I honestly feel that if the government keeps proclaiming something is safe that turns out not to be, they should be held responsible for making right afterwards.