Regulatory capture doesn’t happen overnight. It happens quietly, through technical language, narrow exemptions, and processes that favor insiders.
Large players help shape the rules. Small players live with the consequences.
When compliance costs rise, consolidation follows. When licensing becomes opaque, competition declines. When rulemaking excludes public input, accountability fades.
Good governance demands transparency: Who benefits? Who bears the cost? Who wasn’t at the table?
Rules should protect people, not entrench power.
