Comment by squigz

If PE causes so many problems and needs to be controlled, why not... control it? Regulate it heavily, or ban it outright, or make it very difficult for them to own a large portion of businesses in any given area, etc, etc

It's just the "remove barriers to do X" arguments tends to be used to justify removing important regulations that protect consumers, or the environment, or institutional integrity - all of which may indeed help the little guys, but it also certainly helps the big guys.

I'm also wary of the idea that regulations and the like are the real issue small businesses have a hard time of things - and not just that operating a business has become more expensive/difficult in the modern age (even after taking out regulations), as well as the simple fact that big businesses can, for example, tank losses for a lot longer than a small business in order to win out a market. How would less regulation for the smaller businesses help situations like that?