I think the problem is that we left exploitation of people under the umbrella of government open and so all the demand for exploitation has sailed under that flag.

You've got the tire companies lobbying states to up the tread depth for their safety inspections. The HVAC people got refrigerant restricted so that you have to be a license holder to buy it (artificially increasing demand for their service). The plumbing trade groups have a dozen states convinced that you need a license to install a gas dryer, etc, etc.

It's all the same "screw an extra buck out of the public" industry group and cartel behavior we had a century ago, but government just has a seat at the table and gets a cut this time around.