And that's because special interests have waged a relentless campaign to thwart even basic, common-sense rules - rules to prevent abuse and protect consumers.
In 1985, after the National Literacy Crusade had ended, the infant mortality figures for those who remained illiterate and for those educated in primary school remained more or less unchanged.
The empty shell of a snail or clam may be left behind, and if it is sufficiently durable and resistant to dissolution, it may remain basically unchanged for a long period of time.
In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
Her answer so surprised me that I decided to ask some of the other developers who were also parents what their domestic ground rules for screen time were.
More recently, however, some companies have been investing money in a more ambitious undertaking: learning how to adjust the fundamental make-up of the food they sell.