Deregulation was a Capitol Hill buzzword, and the idea was fast gathering force among both Democrats and Republicans. Liberals wanted to deregulate because competition would lead to decentralized ownership and a more diverse economy; conservatives just wanted the government off business’s back. Together, they were an unstoppable coalition: airline, trucking, natural gas, oil, banking, and other industries were all deregulated by Congress during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
