The good old U.S. of A. is slipping away from being a democracy and is becoming a plutocracy. Thanks to the Supreme Court that decided a corporation is the same as an individual person, and also some of the multi-billionaires in our midst who want to do away with all government control. The Koch brothers, David and Charles, for instance have a fortune of over thirty-five billion dollars. That's a hunk of money that can buy anything and influence the government.
A plutocracy is a government operated by the very rich for their own benefit, where the common folks, you and I, are disposable.
The folks who belong to the Tea Party think they came up from grass roots. They are wrong. They were started, and funded and orchestrated by corporate front groups. The Tea Partiers are duped to willingly work for their people who want no government [regulation] over anything for their own benefit, and the Tea Partiers are working against their own best interest. I'm sure most folks want some kinds of controls, such as keeping our food and civilians safe, keeping our drinking water pure, sewage properly disposed of and our landfills free of toxic waste. If Bush hadn't removed regulations on banks and banking we wouldn't be in the financial mess we are in now. So regulations can play an important role.
And it looks to me like the corporations and some of our multi billionaires have bought and control the Republican party, or at least paralyzed it from doing against their own wishes.