The mistake progressives make is that a large federal regulatory body is necessary to act as a check against big business. Little do they know the larger the regulatory body the more susceptible to be co-opted and bribe by big business.
As a result you get the worst of all possible worlds-large bloated companies protected by government regulations (the smaller companies can’t afford to comply)
and implied bailouts and favors.
These types of companies do not serve customers best as their prime focus is not on serving customers, lowering prices or innovating, but rather maintaining their position via influencing the government to keep competitors at bay.
As Mises points out these types of businesses are the most anti democratic and antithetical to a free market.
In a free market, consumers vote with their dollars (or other fiat currencies).
In a controlled or planned economy, consumer choice is limited.
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