Regulatory “capture” occurs when a government entity tasked with protecting the public’s interest instead protects the industry is it supposed to regulate. The latest example is the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service. The MMS was created in 1982 to regulate the oil and gas industry and collect royalties on the resources extracted from federally leased land and waters.

A Cato essay on special-interest spending explains how many federal programs deliver subsidies to particular groups of individuals and businesses while harming taxpayers and damaging the overall economy. A major reason why spending has spun out of control in Washington is that thousands of special interest groups have secured a slice of the spending pie, and they fight tooth and nail to make sure policymakers keep baking.

Govexec.com reports that one-third of recently surveyed federal managers believe “government misuses taxpayer dollars.”  While I applaud this bunch for their honesty, I’m stupefied that any federal manager would say otherwise.  One need only peruse the morning news to see that Uncle Sam’s spawn fritter away taxpayer dollars incessantly.  (I wonder how a manager at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service would vote.)  Even more disturbing, a survey of the general public conducted by the same outfit found that only 42% of respondents believe government wastes money.  (I’m holding out hope this survey was conducted in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.)