I've been in the private sector working in banking for a couple of years now. When the financial crisis hit I was finishing up grad school. What a difference a couple of years make. I now see that the cause of the financial crisis was not bankers but government. For decades they made it easy for people to buy homes they could not afford (buying a house is one of the main tenets of the American Dream). They also made it easy for regulators and bankers to facilitate this policy. Then when the crisis hit the banking community was made the scapegoat. Then, in order to save the financial system, government forced (yes, they actually told the companies) to merge or buy each other out. Of course, you could say no but then you'd have much bigger problems. One example of this was Bank of America buying Countrywide and, later, Merrill Lynch. It never made sense then but it was forced on them by the Treasury. Fast forward a couple of years later and another arm of the government, the DoJ, sues Bank of America for all the toxic and "questionable" loans Countrywide made. BoA had to settle. Where did that money go? The Treasury, of course. There are countless other examples related to the financial crisis. So, it's easy to blame bankers and use them as the fall guy but they did not create the financial crisis. People often ask why no bankers have gone to jail because of the financial crisis. This is your answer. Uncle Sam was 100% at fault.
A more recent, and pedestrian example, is the new type of cab companies trying to enter the taxi business. Why is it so tough? At least, in NYC, the barrier to entry is high because of government. They sell medallions that cost millions of dollars in order to get into the business. It's an artificial barrier that does not need to exist. But it exists and, hence, 2 families dominate this business. So the government is fighting startups in order to maintain a corrupt status quo that never should've existed in the first place. But when you look at the arguments, it's usually between the small fries against the startups while the government acts as judge, jury, and executioner (with a heavy bias, as previously mentioned).
A more recent, and pedestrian example, is the new type of cab companies trying to enter the taxi business. Why is it so tough? At least, in NYC, the barrier to entry is high because of government. They sell medallions that cost millions of dollars in order to get into the business. It's an artificial barrier that does not need to exist. But it exists and, hence, 2 families dominate this business. So the government is fighting startups in order to maintain a corrupt status quo that never should've existed in the first place. But when you look at the arguments, it's usually between the small fries against the startups while the government acts as judge, jury, and executioner (with a heavy bias, as previously mentioned).