It just seems like they got everything they wanted from back in the 1980s and now to justify their eternal war on "the libs" they're just cranking the insanity meter up but the people who have been enriched by the gutting of regulations are like "hello? No. We don't want this totally gone. We are milking the cow, dumbass!"

100%. The cow analogy is very apt. Milkers and Slaughterers. The majority of the big bourgeoisie are happy to milk the cow, but the consolidation of wealth and power is leaving a growing segment of the small bourgeoisie out in the cold. A class of small business tyrants, petty landlords, and entreprenerds have been sucking at the teat of empire for generations, while not truly understanding or caring how any of it works as long as they can sunbathe and drink a cold beer in their back yards next to their in-ground pool. The teat is drying up though. Less and less milk is coming out, despite all efforts, and there is not enough cream for everyone who feels entitled to it. Even if a handful of people are still getting cream, it is only a matter of time until the mob slaughters the cow. (We, the proletariat, are the cow in this analogy).

(This could be workshopped a bit more)