Running water, and sewer pipes, of course were and are provided by government. So, too, electricity. It’s fun for the author to highlight all the progress of th

Running water, and sewer pipes, of course were and are provided by government. So, too, electricity. It’s fun for the author to highlight all the progress of the 1930s. When you’re a billionaire, every year you can keep government regulators and trustbusters at bay, whether in the 1870s (a lot of historical parallels) or today, the annual returns are material. They at least know their history, and know that sooner or later the jig will be up, but with a bit more time, maybe their names will go along with Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, Frick, Mellon, Huntington, etc. In the meantime, for a few million, you can get the founders of portfolio companies to carry water for you about the importance of keeping regulation away from innovation. Meanwhile, about that Triangle Shirtwaist factory…