What's the advantage of government regulation of business?

Answer 1

There is none. The advantage is on the government's side. Keep in mind that a government regulation is a set of rules written, enacted and enforced by government officials for the purpose of controling men's actions in a given enterprise, whether manufacturing a product (such as Microsoft), or offering a service (such as Certified Public Accountants).

Regulatory agencies exist at both the state and federal level. And today there are thousands of them intruding into Americans' lives in countless ways. Government regulations impact a variety of businesses in a variety of ways and consequently impact their customers---from higher than necessary prices forced upon the producer by government fees and licenses to wasted time and effort of workers attempting to follow "guidelines." This is true so long as one is using words in their proper sense. If however, you're talking about graft, corruption, pull, bribery or other fraudulent practices, then one might say that if a man were to seek government regulation of his actions, it would be to harm a competitor. That is an "advantage" only if you choose to be immoral.