A documentary  

Heath
Nothing too enlightening about Future Shock; I just mentioned it because your comment about "too much choice" reminded me of the one thing I remember from the book: Toffler's discussion of overchoice, which made a big impact on me for some reason (although I've since decided that the condition is always temporary, so it's not a big deal).

Thank you.
It has come to be clear, to me, that businesses of all types exist for the purpose of transferring cash from the pockets of the public to those of the business-owner (and, increasingly, to the ever-eager stockholder), in exchange for some product or service. As such, the business is a potential predator, and like any predator ought to be viewed with caution. It is in the interest of society to assure its members -- the citizenry -- that they will not be unduly threatened by an organism whose sole purpose is to profit at their expense -- especially when that organism is in possession of powers (access to Congress, to Madison Avenue, and to costly legal counsel, specifically) not readily available to individual members of the public.
Thus, regulation. We have seen recently the voracious and self-serving behavior which banks and traders have demonstrated, at the expense of the society at large -- when regulatory agencies turned a blind eye to malpractice or even behaved with complicity. Every week seems to bring with it another revelation of some energy or manufacturing concern being found at fault in re the pollution of its neighboring environment -- for example.
Equally-imposed regulation ? Surely, the same laws should be applied to all. But if one class of business entity has embarked upon a novel way in which to cheat at its game and/or threaten the well-being of its customers or the public at large, new policing efforts may be indicated -- whether or not they reflect what is being done in other places or to other classes of entities. I image we can all agree upon that ? Caveat emptor, indeed . . .

SDR
You're right; some businesses are vastly more profitable when they can avoid regulation or find loopholes in it. My word choice was deliberate, though: "Makers" doesn't include bankers, and "affects equally" means more than "is applied equally".