[Accujack]

"Relaxation" of regulations has been sliding downhill since about the 50s, but it reached a fever pitch during the Reagan presidency.

The "new conservatives" and religious fundamentalists found they had a president they could control who was slowly forgetting everything he knew, and they used that to the fullest advantage.

Much of where we are today is due to the processes that began then, from (lack of) fairness in news reporting to the permissive corporate laws that allowed private equity and corporate raiding to relaxation of banking and securities laws that allowed 2008 to happen.

There have been some ups and downs between the 80s and today, and a few Democratic years, but in general the slide has continued because once money gets into politics, it won't leave quietly... it has to be forced out.