Fundamentally I don't disagree, and I think my comment is pretty clear. I'm not making a specific argument on where the balance of regulation ought to exist. I take issue only with the framing of the debate in terms that make it impossible to hold a conversation. No offense is meant towards anyone, I'd just prefer to keep the discussion at a bit more civil tone. We already have a reddit.
Edit: nuked two paras that didn't come out right.
I maintain that, because government is so accessible and because they carry such a big stick, the vast, vast portion of rent seeking is accomplished by subverting government regulation.
That said, I'm up-voting your reply because it is a relevant argument. I just watched a TED video with Paul Romer where he talked about the effect of societal rules on development: not just governmental laws, but broader societal norms that might prevent progress.
Well said.
You'll not that the only way that rent seeking is possible is when the government gets its claws into the industry. Government regulation becomes the tool of those it claims to watch. It happens every time: well-meaning regulators get subverted toward the ends of business lobbyists.
Is there any reason to believe that something will suddenly turn this around so that the government is never suberted?