Regulatory Capture is endemic in the US Government, and the problem is only getting worse over time. I really wish there was a party that believed in the power of the government as an advocate for the people and a check on corporate power, but given our money driven elections this is basically impossible now. You simply cannot get elected anymore unless you’ve got deep pocketed (corporate) interests backing you, and then you are indebted to them.
We can’t even have a proper great depression anymore to shake up the old powerbase. The government is more than willing to throw money into companies to prop them up when their own malfeasance comes back to bite them in the ass.
