What Is Regulatory Capture?

"Regulations actually benefited the regulated industry at the expense of consumers." Watch as Susan Dudley explains who really benefits from regulations and how that effects the economic freedom of individuals.

George Washington University professor, Susan Dudley, explains the concept of Regulatory Capture.

Produced by Sean W. Malone

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  Nonprofits & Activism

[macrokernel]

Ahh, liberals calling for more government regulation, unaware of the harm it has effected to small businesses.

Such useful idiots they are to the corporations that they oh-so despise! :)

[vakeraj]

As long as government has extraordinary power- to tax, regulate, subsidize, and otherwise control the economy- it WILL be corrupted. No amount of campaign finance reform, rules against revolving doors, etc can stop the abuse of this power by special interests.

[TheBalancedAmerican]

Money has always manipulated politics, and the larger that government grows in size and scope, the more money will corrupt the system. This is why we should be cautious about surrendering more-and-more power to bureaucracies.

A mistake that many make is assume that problems can be solved by legislating the solution. But magical solutions seldom produce their intention. It is a tough balance, because we obviously need regulation. But regulation is also a slippery-slope to tyranny. =/

[TheBalancedAmerican]

Yes! They're unaware of the contradiction between what they want, and the outcomes of their methods. They distrust concentrated power, yet advocate for concentrating power. They want less corruption and more opportunity, but promote favoritism & despise entrepreneurship.

It requires no knowledge to understand the liberal perspective. "Be good to people." Your average 7yr old understands this. It is valuable as a balance against extreme-right ideas,but fails miserably at developing solutions.=/

[rockandrock44]

Genetic Fallacy...lol. And did you even listen to the video? Businesses benefit from regulation via regulatory capture and playing up said benefits for the "public good". If anything, eliminating said regulations and cronyism (including oil subsidies) would HARM Koch, something they have been clear in admitting.

[rockandrock44]

Taking "money out of politics" doesn't solve the problem. Regulations will still be written by the revolving door, and the influential will find alternative ways to win favor. It's akin to proposing price controls as a solution to rising prices: you simply redirect the problem elsewhere.

[Sevi Fattahpour]

i was trying to make a point and i'm fully aware of what you said. Its relevant to this video because socialism is the root to all corruptions

[john joh]

There is no way that could be an actual PhD thesis or dissertation nor is relevant to this video.

[john joh]

Good point, its not like the Koch brothers have anything to gain from getting rid of regulation right?