Cultural pressure means political pressure and eventually that works its way through the system. It may be blunt and slow, but it gets there eventually.
I'm realizing that you can always spin a story either way. If regulation is restrictionist, you talk about the ratchet and the overriding aversion of the regulator to being blamed for anything. If regulation is lax and ineffective, you talk about the revolving door with industry and the reluctance of regulators to piss off companies they could later get lucrative consulting jobs at.
There is always a stock story available to explain whatever we currently don't like, but who knows what the facts are.
