Elite interests didn't always need to pass new laws. Often, they just had to block updates to old ones—a tactic called "drift"—letting inflation and market changes erode middle-class protections like the minimum wage or labor laws.
While labor unions and middle-class advocacy groups declined, corporate interests organized into powerful lobbying machines. Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made t...
This political muscle led to deregulated financial markets, tax cuts for the hyper-wealthy, and a system where "banks are organized; their customers are not". Elite interests didn't always need to pass new laws
The authors found that economic growth didn't just favor the "educated"—it favored the , and even more so the top 0.1% . This political muscle led to deregulated financial markets,
Instead of a rising tide lifting all boats, they describe an economy where "yachts are rising, but dinghies are largely staying put". The Culprit: Organized Politics