Is America becoming a Bureaucratic Tyranny?

Maybe a bit overwrought as I suspect (and hopefully, I'm not wrong that) many of these regulatory regimes are unsustainable politically. In the short(er) run, if America is becoming a "regulatory state" there will be significant costs to both freedom and economic growth (PointsandFigures via Instapundit):

We’re headed for an economic system in which many industries have a handful of large, cartelized businesses— think 6 big banks, 5 big health insurance companies, 4 big energy companies, and so on. Sure, they are protected from competition. But the price of protection is that the businesses support the regulator and administration politically, and does their bidding. If the government wants them to hire, or build factory in unprofitable place, they do it. The benefit of cooperation is a good living and a quiet life. The cost of stepping out of line is personal and business ruin, meted out frequently. That’s neither capture nor cronyism.