The Plunder of the Legislative Process

It is amazing to read the words of Bastiat, written over 150 years ago, but applicable today:

Your principle has placed these words above the entrance of the legislative chamber: “whosoever acquires any influence here can obtain his share of legal plunder.” And what has been the result? All classes have flung themselves upon the doors of the chamber crying: “A share of the plunder for me, for me!”

— Frédéric Bastiat, Selected Essays on Political Economy [1848]