The drawbridge effect is a phenomenon often noted by bad thinkers. That’s where a group of over-class types gentrify a formerly beaten down area. Once it gets going, they begin to raise the drawbridge to keep out the hoi polloi. That usually means jacking up property taxes, layering on building regulations and limiting development. The city of Cambridge Massachusetts is a good example. Try building a house or building an apartment building in that city and you will be met with waves of regulators and community activists.

That’s why the population of Cambridge Mass is lower than it was in 1950.

We may be seeing something similar in the world of college sports. This story shows how it works. In this case, the big five conferences have hoovered up all of the good properties. They have left the undesirable properties in what they call the mid-major conferences. All of the conference commissioners have indicated two things. One is they are no longer interested in adding teams. The other thing is they now want special rules for themselves. They are, after all, the elite and being elite means not abiding by the rules

In America these days, there is one set of laws for the prols and another set for the people in charge. As we see in college sports, the people at the top lock in place a set of rules that give them the bulk of social benefits. Those same rules will spread the costs onto everyone else and make it impossible for the prols to compete. The drawbridge is the set of rules and regulations promulgated by the people in charge. Throughout America, the sound you hear is the raising of the drawbridge. What matters is which side you’re on.