The Big Myth — the notion that regulation acts as a check on Big Business — is so widespread that I believe no amount of evidence will shake journalists from their presumption that Big Business wants to be left alone. As a result, we are constantly barraged with stories proclaiming “strange bedfellows” or “unlikely allies” whenever journalists discover Big Business calling for more regulation.

Today, the surprised party is Reuters, and the surprising development is that companies who stand to profit from a cap-and-trade climate bill are lobbying for a cap-and-trade climate bill: