Somehow the credit card industry worked pretty damn well for decades. If customers paid attention.

The term "consumer protection" is a very broad one nowadays. It seems to have gotten far past things like fraud and abuse, and has developed into a synonym for "government control of the buying and selling process."

For example, most liberals think it is some sort of crime to charge more for a higher-risk insurance policy. That it should be illegal to offer a cheaper policy with fewer benefits in place of a more expensive one with more complete coverage. That consumer choice can only lead to problems since of course the average American doesn't have brains to deal with it.

The persistent liberal fantasy is that we can offer everyone cheap health care with all the fancy trimmings, and it will all be paid for by...somebody. Somehow. Don't worry about it.

If you tried to pass a law saying that car companies had to sell a Mercedes S500 for the same price as a C-class, they would think you were nuts. If you tried to pass a law saying it was illegal to sell a car unless it had ALL the options, they would think you were nuts. If you tried to pass a law declaring the Chevy Volt the National Car, and everyone should be forced to buy it, they would think you were nuts.

Somehow, economic lunacy seems to be ignored when it comes to the insurance industry.