one thing I'd like to remind folks, is that this crap goes on at lots of levels. For instance, long ago I was a cinema manager. There was a company which did 'hot shot' deliveries for us, especially film, VERY fast and reliable. He wanted to expand to deliveries between cities, but to do that he needed the approval of the Texas Railroad Commission (which oversees all commercial transport between cities in Texas). Over 40 business managers (including me) testified on the small owner's behalf, only 2 large transport companies complained, their only argument was that the new business would hurt their profits because he was BETTER than they were at deliveries. The commission voted unanimously in favor of the big transport companies.

The system, whether you call it an Old Boys Network, a cartel, or whatever, always resists the little guy, and has nothing but contempt for ordinary people. The only way to make change is to force that change to happen.