[bsder]

The real problem is that everybody wants to be the rent seeker in the middle rather than the guy at the end trying to put a useful device together and make it earn money.

If I'm the guy at the end and I'm good enough to build the device, I don't need the rent-seeking guy in the middle.

If I need the guy in the middle, I, by definition, am not good enough to be the guy at the end building the device.