Agreed. Given a way to frame it so that it seems like it's working in the interest of "the people", they'll be happy to lay down on their swords. Really, this k

Agreed. Given a way to frame it so that it seems like it's working in the interest of "the people", they'll be happy to lay down on their swords. Really, this kind of things happens all the time. Corporations are happy to be handicapped when the same handicap presents an even greater barrier to competition. Economists even have a term for this: "rent seeking" (see https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Rent_seeking https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Rent_seeking ) The regulations that hobble the pharmaceutical industry today (you can debate about whether they're good or not; this isn't the point) were initially sought by the industry, in order to weed out snake oil charlatans. A significant early backer of gun control regulation was the Ruger corporation, because the regulations were structured in a way that affected imports (like Beretta) much more severely.