Ruling by fiat is becoming more common, accountability less so. Well, PG&E cut down a whole bunch of trees in my town just recently, against the objections of

Ruling by fiat is becoming more common, accountability less so. Well, PG&E cut down a whole bunch of trees in my town just recently, against the objections of the locals and the city council. And Judge Alsop, who supervises their bankruptcy chided them for this slap-dash, crude effort to show they were doing thing (didn't stop them, darn it). So you see a bunch of actions that look like the state or industry acting by fiat. But it only looks that way. The many institutions of this society are at loggerheads with each other, the parties are in gridlock, etc. The main thing is they've shut out the average person from their debates - which is a bit different.