The auto dealership lobby is one of the most powerful in America. It leans heavily Republican, and Republicans dutifully propose legislations which protect these wealthy -- but almost wholly unnecessary -- middlemen. Slate had an expose [1] recently about them that is very enlightening.
If it’s only Republicans why is it that heavily Democratic states like CA or NY also require dealerships in most cases? (CA is slightly better than NY but still doesn’t allow direct sales for 90% of vehicles)
> That first taste of triumph only whetted the appetite. By the 1930s, with another war effort in the works, dealers went state by state. “At that time, there was lots of attention being paid to small business as having inherent virtue and the need to protect mom-and-pop shops,” Daniel Crane, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, told me. “They embraced that story, and were extremely successful at getting legislatures in all 50 states to strictly regulate how cars were sold.” In 17 states, it is outright illegal for car manufacturers to sell cars at all.
That’s the stupidity of people holding onto their party so loyally. Politicians are only loyal to those paying the bills, and most citizens are not contributing enough to their “campaigns” to matter.
Someone posted the other day about the (likely apocryphal) story of a California statesman who struggled to find a place to live in SF because of high rents and his limited resources. 10-15 years later that same politician is a multi-millionaire while making less than most starting engineers in SF and with none of the equity. It’s astounding how wealthy people get after becoming “public servants.” Ugh.
[1] https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/05/rich-republicans...