To borrow from Henry Adams, politics, whatever its professions, is generally the systematic organization of the politically powerful to plunder the politically weak or disorganized.
The eponymous “Durbin Amendment” (named after U.S. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin) to the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is emblematic.
The amendment contains a debit card network routing provision that profits merchants at the expense of community banks, credit unions, other financial institutions, and consumers. Before the amendment, card issuers could negotiate exclusive contracts with networks. They differentiated themselves with regard to security, reliability, and card acceptance rates. Consumers shopped among the various cards based on these features of their associated networks.