What do you understand by this term

To me ~ constitutes a gigantic institution fueled by greed, the entire purpose of which is to delude and exploit the weaknesses of the hoi polloi (me) and the masses

I could cite thousands of examples but here are a few

When smog testing was first handed over by ~ to private enterprise and the same garage performing the test could provide corrective repairs, it now had incentive to fail your vehicle so it could gouge you for unnecessary repair work

When you sold your house ~ placed upon you certain expensive obligations such as "closing costs," the requirement to purchase title insurance, and to hire an exterminator who overcharged you for slipshod work, altogether bypassing any infestation he deemed hard to reach

When your water heater gave up the ghost, your friendly local home-improvement store would sell you a new one but upon delivery wouldn't install it because the ~'s new requirements call for changes in the plumbing that might cost you four times the price of the heater itself

Your bank is an intimate member of ~ with all its collateral charges, eg, the exorbitant penalty for overdraft, inflated price for checks...

...then there's the cell phone, all the auxiliary charges they didn't tell you about at the store where you bought it, Charges for unused minutes, etc

I could go on and undoubtedly so could you. No, this is not a political tirade. Of course the pols participate too, but ~ is much bigger, it dominates our environment and milks us to the core. So to reiterate, what do you understand by ~

Here's a chance to unburden yourself and perhaps to send them a message

The Establishment: an imaginary conspiracy of Government and Business which is believed to exist by people who mistake incompetence and stupidity for collusion and malice.

Bob: Splendid. I will give you credit for it

I would agree were it not for the fact that politicians, clearly members of "the Establishment" are often highly competent at achieving their own and their parties' aims. Of course, this often manifests itself as apparent incompetence in running the country.

Rich, very astute followup