And now for something entirely serious
Oct. 10th, 2014 01:21 pmhttp://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/536/the-secret-recordings-of-carmen-segarra
This American Life, in cooperation with Propublica, has a story up about Carmen Segarra, a woman who is currently fighting the Fed over wrongful termination she says was based on her unwillingness to be a party to regulatory capture.
I think regulatory capture is one of the least understood, most problematic, and least talked-about problems with our dysfunctional government. People talk a lot about the influence of money on politics and elections and yeah, that's a thing. 0.04% of Americans ought not to be able to have all the government they can buy and leave the other 99.96% out in the cold. But in between elections, government has to govern, and a big part of that is regulation - ensuring that the rules are followed and that the playing field is level, or as level as we can make it. Regulatory capture neuters that practice and means that no matter who's in office, no matter what laws get passed, the effect of those laws is nil.
That Ms. Segarra happened to capture it on tape makes her story unique, but her experience is one that is replicated thousands upon thousands of times a year, to all our detriments.
This American Life, in cooperation with Propublica, has a story up about Carmen Segarra, a woman who is currently fighting the Fed over wrongful termination she says was based on her unwillingness to be a party to regulatory capture.
I think regulatory capture is one of the least understood, most problematic, and least talked-about problems with our dysfunctional government. People talk a lot about the influence of money on politics and elections and yeah, that's a thing. 0.04% of Americans ought not to be able to have all the government they can buy and leave the other 99.96% out in the cold. But in between elections, government has to govern, and a big part of that is regulation - ensuring that the rules are followed and that the playing field is level, or as level as we can make it. Regulatory capture neuters that practice and means that no matter who's in office, no matter what laws get passed, the effect of those laws is nil.
That Ms. Segarra happened to capture it on tape makes her story unique, but her experience is one that is replicated thousands upon thousands of times a year, to all our detriments.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-10 10:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-10-10 10:16 pm (UTC)