document_title: America's Got Talent

question_text: when did americas got talent season 13 start

question_tokens: when did americas got talent season 13 start

text: America's Got Talent

text: Series overview[edit]

text:
Season
Duration
Finalists

Premiere
Finale
Winner
Runner-up
Third place

1
June 21, 2006
August 17, 2006
Bianca Ryan
All That
The Millers

2
June 5, 2007
August 21, 2007
Terry Fator
Cas Haley
Butterscotch

3
June 17, 2008
October 1, 2008
Neal E. Boyd
Eli Mattson
Nuttin' But Stringz

4
June 23, 2009
September 16, 2009
Kevin Skinner
Bárbara Padilla
Recycled Percussion

5
June 1, 2010
September 15, 2010
Michael Grimm
Jackie Evancho
Fighting Gravity

6
May 31, 2011
September 14, 2011
Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr.
Silhouettes
Team iLuminate

7
May 14, 2012
September 13, 2012
Olate Dogs
Tom Cotter
William Close

8
June 4, 2013
September 18, 2013
Kenichi Ebina
Taylor Williamson
Jimmy Rose

9
May 27, 2014
September 17, 2014
Mat Franco
Emily West
AcroArmy

10
May 26, 2015
September 16, 2015
Paul Zerdin
Drew Lynch
Oz Pearlman

11
May 31, 2016
September 14, 2016
Grace VanderWaal
The Clairvoyants
Jon Dorenbos

12
May 30, 2017
September 20, 2017
Darci Lynne Farmer
Angelica Hale
Light Balance

13
May 29, 2018
September 2018
TBA
TBA
TBA

text:
Indicates contestant died after competing.
^ A fourth judge was added in season eight.
^ Beginning with season three, the prize includes the one million dollars, payable in a financial annuity over 40 years, and a chance to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip. The length of the headlining stint has varied, with season four's prize including a 10-week schedule[6] and season eleven's lasting three days.[6]
A book was released in 2013 titled Inside AGT: The Untold Stories of America's Got Talent. It describes the seasons, contestants, judges, and production techniques of the show and contains detailed interviews with contestants from all seasons.[7]

text: Judges and Hosts[edit]

text:
Judges/Hosts
Seasons

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Regis Philbin

Jerry Springer

Nick Cannon

Tyra Banks

Piers Morgan

David Hasselhoff

Brandy Norwood

Sharon Osbourne

Howie Mandel

Howard Stern

Mel B

Heidi Klum

Simon Cowell

text: Guest judges[edit]

text: Starting with the tenth season, each of the main judges invited a guest judge to join the judging panel for one night during the Judge Cuts stage of the competition. The guest judges had the ability to employ the golden buzzer to bypass the other judges and advance an act to the live shows. The first guest judge, Neil Patrick Harris, appeared at the invitation of Howard Stern in episode eight of season ten, which aired on July 14, 2015. Michael Bublé appeared at the invitation of Heidi Klum in episode nine of season ten, which aired on July 21, 2015. Marlon Wayans appeared at the invitation of Howie Mandel in episode ten of season ten, which aired on July 28, 2015. Piers Morgan appeared at the invitation of Mel B in episode eleven of season ten, which aired on August 4, 2015.[8] Beginning with the eleventh season the guest judges were announced without any indication if they were invited by one of the regular judges.[9] This continued into the twelfth season when the guest judges were announced by NBC through various outlets.[10][11][12]

text:
Season
Guest Judge (in order of appearance)

10
Neil Patrick Harris
Michael Bublé
Marlon Wayans
Piers Morgan

11
Ne-Yo
Reba McEntire
George Lopez
Louis Tomlinson

12
Chris Hardwick
DJ Khaled
Laverne Cox
Seal

13
Ken Jeong
Martina McBride
Olivia Munn

text: Selection process[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Producers' Auditions[edit]

text: The general selection process of the show begins with separate producers' auditions held in various cities across the United States, some of which host only the producers' auditions, and some of which also host judges' auditions held in theaters. This round is held several months before the judges' audition. Acts that have made it through the producers' audition then audition in front of the judges and a live audience.[13]

text: Judges' Auditions[edit]

text: Following the producers' auditions, acts that are called back are to audition in front of (as of 2013) four celebrity judges and an audience. These auditions are specifically held in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and are pre recorded to be later televised. The announced judges for the Season 13 (2018) are Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Melanie Brown (Mel B) and Howie Mandel. Tyra Banks will be returning to the show as the host. The current date the series is set to premiere is May 29, 2018. At the Judges' Auditions, the four judges may individually register their disapproval of an act by pressing a red buzzer in front of each judge on the judging table, which lights up their corresponding X both at the table and above the stage, this lighting is followed by a quick flash of light on stage and a loud buzzing effect. Any performer who receives X's (3 in seasons 1 to 7, or 4 from season 8 onwards) from all of the judges must stop performing as the stage turns red and is eliminated. Since season three (2008), large audiences that are seated in the auditorium by the separate company On Camera Audiences have become factors in the judging process, as their reaction of clapping or booing way swing or influence a judge's votes. Judges are allowed to express constructive criticism after the 90 seconds of the act are over. If an act receives three or more "yes" votes, they advance to the next round of competition. However, in the majority of the seasons, several acts do not perform in the second round if they do not pass with 3 or more "yes" votes. Many acts that move on may be cut by producers and may forfeit due to the limited slots available for the second performance.

text: Bootcamp[edit]

text: Judgement Week (Seasons 2–9)[edit]

text: From Season 2 (2007) to Season 8 (2013), Las Vegas Week has been an intermediary televised taped round between the auditions and the live shows. This round takes place in a notable venue on the [Las Vegas Strip]. Names for this round in previous seasons have included "Las Vegas Callbacks" (Seasons 2-3) and "Vegas Verdicts" (Season 4) and "Las Vegas Week" (Seasons 5-8). The [Las Vegas] round generally consists of acts performing a second time for the judges (except for Season 4 in 2009 in which only 3 acts needed to perform again), who then pick select acts to move on to the live shows. An act eliminated in Las Vegas Week is not completely excluded from the live show competition, as several seasons have featured contestants being brought back from this round as "wildcard" acts.

text: Prior to the inclusion of this round, the judges would have a list containing a number of acts which advanced past the auditions during each live show. The judges would then pick ten acts from that group each week, leaving several acts without the chance to perform.

text: In Season 9 (2014), acts went to New York instead of Las Vegas to determine a place in the live shows, and the round, for that season, was renamed Judgement Week.[14]

text: Judge Cuts (Seasons 10–)[edit]

text: In Season 10, Judge Cuts format was introduced. One guest judge per round will join the judging panel and help with decisions. Each guest judge was given one golden buzzer opportunity to send an act straight to the live shows, but they do not receive a red X. Twenty acts are shown each week, and seven advance, including one from the guest judge's golden buzzer. Any act that received all four red buzzers was to be immediately eliminated from the competition. In season 10 (2015), Judge Cuts were held at a Soundstage in Brooklyn. In season 11 (2016), Judge Cuts were held at CBS Studio Center. From season 12 onwards (2017-present), Judge Cuts is specifically held in the NBC Universal Back Lot in a selected sound stage, therefore making the audience smaller compared to both the Judges' Auditions in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and the Live Shows held in the Dolby Theatre.

text: Live shows[edit]

text: During the live shows, a group of acts ranging from only a Top 20 (Season 2), to as many as 60 (Season 8), compete for viewers' and judges' votes. In the first season, the judges could not end an act's performance, but could either "check" or "X" the performance during their critique. Since Season 2 (2007), judges have been able to end an act's performance early, and the "check" was removed. Generally, acts each perform first in a live round consisting of a series of quarterfinals. In seasons with YouTube auditions, the round of live judging of YouTube finalists takes place then, as part of these quarterfinals. Then there may be additional shows for wild card acts—acts that one or more of the judges select to be given one more chance for audience vote despite previous elimination. From these shows, the existing group is narrowed through votes by the public and/or the judges (depending on the season). Acts then move on to a semifinal round, and even further rounds (such as a "Top 8" or a "Top 10", depending on the season) through a series of weekly shows, which trim the number of acts down each time based on a public vote. In the majority of seasons, judges have had no vote from the semifinals. All these rounds culminate in a live final, which has consisted of anywhere from 4 to 10 acts throughout the seasons. The act with the most votes is declared the winner, given $1 million, and, since Season 3 (2008), a chance to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip.

text: During Season 1 (2006), the studio performance shows were filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. In seasons 2-3 (2007-2008), the studio performance shows were held at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, CA. From Season 4 through 6 (2009–2011), the live shows were filmed at Stage 36 of CBS Television City in Los Angeles. In Season 7 (2012), the live shows were held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. From Seasons 8 through 10 (2013–2015), live performances were held at Radio City Music Hall in New York. From Season 11 (2016) onwards the live shows are being held at the Dolby Theatre.[15]

text: For Seasons 5 through 8 (2010–13), the show also made the winner the headline act of a national tour with runners up following the final show, stopping in 25 cities.[16][17] For season nine, however (2014), there was no tour; two shows were held in Las Vegas for the winner and some of the runner-up acts.[18] (See #America's Got Talent Live, below.)

text: YouTube auditions[edit]

text: From Season 5 (2010) to Season 7 (2012), acts who did not attend live auditions could instead submit a taped audition online via YouTube. Acts from the online auditions were then selected to compete in front of the judges and a live audience during the "live shows" part of the season, prior to the semi-finals. The most successful act of the YouTube auditions was Jackie Evancho, who went on to place second in Season 5 and after the season ended, became the youngest solo artist ever to go platinum in the U.S.[19][20]

text: Before the inclusion of this round, the show had a separate audition episode in Seasons 3 and 4 (2008–2009) for contestants who posted videos on MySpace.[21]

text: Golden Buzzer[edit]

text: Introduced in season nine, the "Golden Buzzer" is located on the center of the judges' desk and may be used once per season by each judge. In season 9, a judge could press the golden buzzer to save an act from elimination, regardless of the number of X's earned from the other judges. Starting in season 10 and onward, any act that receives a golden buzzer advances directly to the live show; and in season 11, the hosts also were given the power to use the golden buzzer. The golden buzzer is also used in the Judge Cuts format.

text:
Season
Judges/Hosts

Nick Cannon
Tyra Banks
Howie Mandel
Mel B
Heidi Klum
Howard Stern
Simon Cowell

9
N/A
N/A
Emmanuel & Phillip Hudson
N/A
Dustin's Dojo
N/A

10
Drew Lynch
Sharon Irving
Arielle Baril
Freckled Sky

11
Dorothy Williams
Grace VanderWaal
Laura Bretan
Sal Valentinetti
N/A
Calysta Bevier

12
N/A
Light Balance
Christian Guardino
Darci Lynne Farmer
Angelina Green
Mandy Harvey

13
Zurcaroh
Courtney Hadwin

Michael Ketterer

text: Season synopses[edit]

text: Season 1 (2006)[edit]

text: In May 2006, NBC announced the new show. The audition tour took place in June. Auditions were held in the following locations: Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Some early ads for the show implied that the winning act would also headline a show at a casino, possibly in Las Vegas; however, this was replaced with a million dollars due to concerns of minors playing in Las Vegas, should one become a champion. More than 12 million viewers watched the series premiere (which is more than American Idol got during its premiere in 2002). The two-hour broadcast was the night's most-watched program on U.S. television and the highest-rated among viewers aged 18 to 49 (the prime-time audience that matters most to advertisers), Nielsen Media Research reported.[22]

text: On the season finale, there was an unaired segment that was scheduled to appear after Aly & AJ. The segment featured Tom Green dressing in a parrot costume and squawking with a live parrot to communicate telepathically. Green then proceeded to fly up above the audience, shooting confetti streamers out of his costume onto the crowd below.

text: In season one, the show was hosted by Regis Philbin and judged by actor David Hasselhoff, singer Brandy Norwood, and journalist Piers Morgan.

text: The winner of the season was 11-year-old singer Bianca Ryan, and the runners-up were clogging group All That and musical group The Millers.

text: Season 2 (2007)[edit]

text: After initially announcing in June 2006 that season two would premiere in January 2007 and would air at 8 pm on Sunday nights, with no separate results show, the network changed that, pushing the show back to the summer, where the first season had enjoyed great success. This move kept the show out of direct competition with American Idol, which had a similar premise and was more popular.

text: In AGT's place, another reality-based talent show, Grease: You're The One That I Want, began airing on Sunday nights in the same time slot on NBC beginning in January.[23] In March, NBC announced that Philbin would not return as host of the show, and that Jerry Springer would succeed him as host,[24] with Sharon Osbourne (formerly a judge on Cowell's UK show The X Factor) succeeding Brandy Norwood as a judge.

text: The season finale was shown Tuesday, August 21, with the winner being Terry Fator, a singing impressionist ventriloquist. The runner-up was singer Cas Haley.

text: Season 3 (2008)[edit]

text: Season three premiered on June 17, 2008. Auditions took place in Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago from January to April. A televised MySpace audition also took place.

text: Season three differed from the previous two in many ways. Auditions were held in well-known theaters across the nation, and a new title card was introduced, featuring the American flag as background. The X's matched the ones on Britain's Got Talent as did the judges' table. Like the previous season, the Las Vegas callbacks continued, but there were forty acts selected to compete in the live rounds, instead of twenty. This season also contained several results episodes, but not on a regular basis. The show took a hiatus for two-and-a-half weeks for the 2008 Summer Olympics, but returned with the live rounds on August 26.

text: Neal E. Boyd, an opera singer, was named the winner on October 1. Eli Mattson, a singer and pianist, was runner-up.

text: Season 4 (2009)[edit]

text: Season four premiered on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. It was the first to be broadcast in high definition. Auditions for this season were held in more than nine major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Tacoma, Boston, and Houston. Los Angeles auditions kicked off the January 29–31 tour at the Los Angeles Convention Center, followed by the February 7–8 Atlanta auditions. New York and Miami auditions were held during March. Tacoma auditions were held April 25 and 26. In addition to live auditions and the ability to send in a home audition tape, season four offered the opportunity for acts to upload their video direct to NBC.com/agt with their registration. This year's host was Nick Cannon. Jerry Springer said that he could not return as host due to other commitments.[25]

text: The audition process in season four was the same as the previous season, but the 'Las Vegas Callbacks' was renamed 'Vegas Verdicts'. This was the first season since season one where results episodes lasted one hour on a regular basis. The title card this year featured bands of the American flag and stars waving around the America's Got Talent logo.

text: On September 16, country music singer Kevin Skinner was named the season's winner. The grand prize was $1 million and a 10-week headline show at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The runner-up was Bárbara Padilla, an opera singer.[26]

text: Season 5 (2010)[edit]

text: For season five, the network had considered moving the show to the fall, after rival series So You Think You Can Dance transferred from the summer to fall season in 2009.[27] NBC ultimately decided to keep Talent a summer show.

text: Open auditions were held in the winter to early spring of 2010 in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, and Portland (Oregon). Non-televised producers' auditions were also held in Atlanta and Philadelphia. For the first time, online auditions were also held via YouTube.

text: David Hasselhoff left to host a new television show[28] and was replaced by comedian and game show host Howie Mandel. This made Piers Morgan the only original judge left in the show.[29] The show premiered Tuesday, June 1, 2010, at 8 pm ET. Afterward, Talent resumed the same time slot as the previous season.[30]

text: On September 15, singer Michael Grimm was named the winner. He won a $1 million prize and a chance to perform at the Caesars Palace Casino and Resort on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as headline the 25-city America's Got Talent Live Tour along with runner-up Jackie Evancho, Fighting Gravity, Prince Poppycock, and the other top ten finalists.[16][17]

text: Season 6 (2011)[edit]

text: Season six premiered on Tuesday, May 31, 2011, with a two-hour special. Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne continued as judges after taking jobs on Piers Morgan Tonight and The Talk, respectively. On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on July 27, 2010, Morgan officially stated that he had signed a three-year contract to stay on Talent.[31]

text: The show held televised auditions in Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Seattle, and Houston. Non-televised producers' auditions were also held in Denver and Chicago. Previews of auditions were shown during NBC's The Voice premiere on April 26. Online auditions via YouTube were also held for the second time in the show's run, beginning on May 4. Finalists for this audition circuit competed live on August 9.

text: On Wednesday, September 14, Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., a Frank Sinatra-style singer, was named the winner. Dance group Silhouettes was runner-up.

text: Season 7 (2012)[edit]

text: Season seven premiered on May 14, 2012. The first round of auditions, which are judged by producers, were held in New York, Washington, D.C., Tampa, Charlotte, Austin, Anaheim, St. Louis, and San Francisco from October 2011 to February 2012.[32] The show began its live theater performances at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on February 27.

text: Piers Morgan did not return as a judge for season seven, due to his work hosting CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight,[33] and he was replaced by Howard Stern. Since Stern hosts his SiriusXM radio show in New York City, the live rounds of the show were moved to nearby Newark, New Jersey.[34] In December 2011, Simon Cowell, the show's executive producer, announced that the show would be receiving a "top-to-bottom makeover", confirming that there would be new graphics, lighting, theme music, show intro, logo, and a larger live audience at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.[35] On July 2, at the first live performance show of the season, their new location and stage were unveiled in a two-and-a-half-hour live special. A new set was also unveiled with a revised judges' desk and a refreshed design of the "X".

text: On August 6, Sharon Osbourne announced that she would leave America's Got Talent after the current season, in response to allegations that her son Jack Osbourne was discriminated against by the producers of the upcoming NBC program Stars Earn Stripes.[36]

text: On September 13, Olate Dogs were announced the winner of the season, becoming the show's first completely non-singing act to win the competition and also the first non-solo act to win. Comedian Tom Cotter finished as the runner-up.

text: Season 8 (2013)[edit]

text: Season eight of AGT premiered on Tuesday, June 4, 2013.[37] The new season was announced in a promotional video shown during a commercial break for season seven's second live show. Sharon Osbourne initially stated that she would not return for the season,[38] but later said that she was staying with the show "for now."[39] Osbourne confirmed that she would be leaving the show after a feud with NBC on August 6, 2012.[40][41]

text: On February 20, 2013, it was announced that one of the Spice Girls members, Mel B (Melanie Brown), would be joining the show as the new fourth judge. Entertainment Weekly also reported at the same time that NBC was looking at a possible fourth judge to be added.[42] On March 3, it was announced that supermodel Heidi Klum would replace Sharon Osbourne as the third judge.[43]

text: An Audition Cities poll for the season was announced on July 11, 2012. The first batch of Audition Cities were announced as Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), New Orleans, Birmingham, Memphis, Nashville, Savannah, Raleigh, Norfolk, San Antonio, New York, Columbus (Ohio), and Chicago. This season, the auditions traveled to more cities than ever before.[44] America's Got Talent moved its live shows to Radio City Music Hall in New York for season eight.[45] Auditions in front of the judges and an audience began taping on March 4. The show traveled to New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Antonio.[45]

text: On September 18, 2013, martial arts dancer/mime Kenichi Ebina was announced the winner of the season, the first dance act to win the competition. Stand-up comedian Taylor Williamson was the runner-up.

text: Season 9 (2014)[edit]

text: Season nine premiered on Tuesday, May 27, 2014, at 8 pm ET.[46] The producers' auditions began on October 26, 2013, in Miami. Other audition sites included Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and New York. Contestants could also submit a video of their audition online.[47] Auditions in front of the judges were held February 20–22 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, which also hosted the live shows during season seven. Judges' auditions were held in New York City at Madison Square Garden from April 3 to 6 and in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre from April 21 to 26.[48]

text: The live shows return to Radio City Music Hall on July 29. There was also a new twist in the show, where "Judgment Week" was held in New York City instead of Las Vegas. Judgment Week was originally intended to be held in front of a live studio audience, but after three acts performed, the producers scrapped the live audience concept.[14] This season also came with the addition of a "Golden Buzzer," which was unveiled on that same year's Britain's Got Talent. Each judge can press the buzzer only once each season that can save an act, typically used when there is a tie.[49]

text: For this season, contestants were invited to submit a video of their performance to The Today Show website throughout June, and the top three entrants performed their acts on The Today Show on July 23, 2014. The performer with the most votes, Cornell Bhangra, filled the 48th spot in the quarterfinals.

text: On September 17, magician Mat Franco was announced the winner of the season, the first magic act to win the competition. Singer Emily West was the runner-up.

text: Season 10 (2015)[edit]

text: Season ten premiered on May 26, 2015. Producer auditions began on November 2, 2014, in Tampa. Other audition sites included Nashville, Richmond (Virginia), New York, Chicago, St. Louis, San Antonio, Albuquerque, San Francisco, Seattle, Boise, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Online submissions were also accepted.[50]

text: Howard Stern rumored on his radio show on October 1, 2014, that he might not return,[51] but announced on December 8 that he would return for the upcoming season. Nick Cannon returned for his seventh season as host.[52] On February 9, 2015, Howie Mandel said he would return for season ten[53] and Mel B announced the next day that she would be returning as well.[54] It was revealed on February 11 that Heidi Klum would also be returning.[55]

text: It was announced on December 4, 2014, that Cris Judd would be named as a dance scout.[56] He previously worked on the show as a choreographer behind the scenes, and on the New Zealand version of Got Talent as a judge.

text: Auditions in front of the judges began on March 2, 2015, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.[57][58] They continued at the Manhattan Center in New York City and the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. A special "extreme" audition session was held outside at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, where danger acts performed outside for the judges, who were seated at an outdoor stage.

text: During NBC's summer press tour, it was announced that America's Got Talent would be making their "Golden Buzzer" more like Britain's Got Talent where the contestant that gets the buzzer will be sent directly to the live shows.[59] An official trailer for the season was released, which showed that Dunkin Donuts was the show's official sponsor for the season, with their cups prominently placed on the judges' desk. Dunkin replaced Snapple, which sponsored the show since season seven.

text: On June 24, Howard Stern announced on The Howard Stern Show that season ten would be his last season as judge. Stern said, "In all seriousness, I’ve told you, I’m just too f*cking busy…something's got to give… NBC's already asked me what my intentions are for next year, whether or not I’d come back, I kind of have told them I think this is my last season. Not I think, this is my last season".[60]

text: On September 16, Paul Zerdin was announced the winner of the season, making him the second ventriloquist to win. Comedian Drew Lynch was runner-up, and magician mentalist Oz Pearlman was in Third Place.

text: Season 11 (2016)[edit]

text: America's Got Talent was renewed for an eleventh season on September 1, 2015.[61] The season will have preliminary open call auditions in Detroit, New York, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, San Jose, San Diego, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Orlando, and Dallas.[62] As in years past, hopeful contestants may also submit auditions online.[63]

text: On October 22, 2015, it was announced that creator Simon Cowell would replace Howard Stern as a judge for season 11.[3] Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel all returned as judges, with Nick Cannon returning as host. The live shows moved from New York back to Los Angeles, due to Stern's departure,[64] at the Dolby Theatre.[65]

text: Auditions in front of the judges began on March 3, 2016 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California.[66] The season premiered on May 31, 2016.[67]

text: On September 14, 12-year-old singer-songwriter and ukulele player Grace VanderWaal was announced as the second female and second child to win America's Got Talent (Bianca Ryan, age 11, was first). Magician mentalists The Clairvoyants were runners-up, and magician Jon Dorenbos placed third.

text: Season 12 (2017)[edit]

text: On August 2, 2016, it was announced that host Nick Cannon and all four judges would be returning for season 12.[68] Later that year, on October 4, Simon Cowell signed a contract to remain as a judge through to 2019 (Season 14).[69]

text: On February 13, 2017, Cannon announced he would not return as host for the twelfth season, citing creative differences between him and executives at NBC. The resignation came in the wake of news that the network considered firing Cannon after he made disparaging remarks about NBC in his Showtime comedy special Stand Up, Don't Shoot.[70] NBC selected Tyra Banks as the new host for season 12,[4] which premiered on Tuesday, May 30, 2017.[71]

text: On September 20, Darci Lynne Farmer won the twelfth season, becoming the third ventriloquist, third child act and the third female act to win the competition (second year in a row after VanderWaal's win in 2016). Child singer Angelica Hale was announced as the runner-up, and Ukrainian dance act Light Balance finished in third place. Deaf musician Mandy Harvey and dog act Sara & Hero rounded out the top five.

text: Season 13 (2018)[edit]

text: On February 21, 2018, it was announced that judges Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel along with Tyra Banks would all be returning. The season premiered on May 29, 2018.[5]

text: Post-show[edit]

text: America's Got Talent Live[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: America's Got Talent Live is a show on the Las Vegas Strip that features the winner of each season of America's Got Talent as the main performance.

text: In 2009, America's Got Talent Live appeared on the Las Vegas Strip appearing Wednesday through Sunday at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, in a limited ten-week run from October through January featuring winner Kevin Skinner, runner-up Barbara Padilla and fourth-place finisher The Texas Tenors. It featured the final ten acts which made it to the season four (2009) finale. Jerry Springer emceed, commuting weekly between Stamford, Connecticut, tapings of his self-named show and Las Vegas.[72]

text: In 2010, on the first live show of season five, the winner headlined America's Got Talent Live from Caesars Palace Casino and Resort on the Las Vegas Strip, which was part of a 25-city tour that featured the season's finalists. Jerry Springer returned as both host of the tour and the headliner of the show.[73]

text: In 2012, the tour returned, featuring winners Olate Dogs, Spencer Horsman, Joe Castillo, Lightwire Theater, David Garibaldi and his CMYK's, Jarrett and Raja, Tom Cotter, and other fan favorites.

text: In 2013, after the success of the 2012 tour, another tour was scheduled, featuring season eight's winner, Kenichi Ebina, and finalists Collins Key, Jimmy Rose, Taylor Williamson, Cami Bradley, The KriStef Brothers, and Tone the Chiefrocca.[74] Tone hosted the tour.

text: In 2014, America's Got Talent Live announced that performances in Las Vegas on September 26 and 27 would feature Taylor Williamson, the season eight (2013) runner-up, and the top finalists for season nine: Mat Franco, Emily West, Quintavious Johnson, AcroArmy, Emil and Dariel, Miguel Dakota, and Sons of Serendip.[18]

text: In 2015, no tour was held. Instead, three shows were given at the Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas featuring winner Paul Zerdin, runner-up Drew Lynch, and fan favorite Piff the Magic Dragon.

text: In 2016, four shows were given at the Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas. They featured the top two finalists for season 11, Grace VanderWaal and The Clairvoyants, as well as finalist Tape Face.[75]

text: In 2017, four shows were given at the Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas. They featured winner Darci Lynne, runner-up Angelica Hale, third-placed Light Balance, and finalist Preacher Lawson.[76]

text: Holiday Spectacular[edit]

text: NBC broadcast the two-hour America's Got Talent Holiday Spectacular on December 19, 2016, hosted by Cannon with performances by Grace VanderWaal, Jackie Evancho, Andra Day, Penn & Teller, Pentatonix, Terry Fator, Mat Franco, Piff the Magic Dragon, Olate Dogs, Professor Splash, Jon Dorenbos and others, and featuring the Season 11 judges, including Klum, who sang a duet with Season 11 finalist Sal Valentinetti.[77] The special drew 9.5 million viewers.[78]

text: Reception[edit]

text: U.S. television ratings[edit]

text: Since the show began, its ratings have been very high, ranging from 9 million viewers to as many as 16 million viewers, generally averaging around 11 million viewers. The show has also ranked high in the 18–49 demographic, usually rating anywhere from as low as 1.6 to as high as 4.6 throughout its run. Audition shows and performance shows rate higher on average than results shows.

text: Although the show's ratings have been high, the network usually keeps the show's run limited to before the official start of the next television season in the third week of September with some reductions or expansions depending on Olympic years, where finale ratings are usually lower due to returning programming on other networks.

text: The highest rated season in overall viewers to date is season four (2009). The most-watched episode has been the finale of season five (2010), with 16.41 million viewers. The series premiere and an episode featuring the first part of Las Vegas Week in season six (2011) have each tied for highest rating among adults 18–49, both having a 4.6 rating.

text:
Season
Premiered
Ended
TV season
Timeslot (ET)
Season
viewers
Season
ranking

Date
Viewers
(in millions)
Date
Viewers
(in millions)

1
June 21, 2006
12.41
Final Performances: August 16, 2006

2005–06
Wednesday 8:00 pm

1

Season Finale: August 17, 2006
12.05
Thursday 9:00 pm

1

2
June 5, 2007
12.93
Final Performances: August 20, 2007

2006–07
Tuesday 8:00 pm

1

Season Finale: August 21, 2007
13.87

3
June 17, 2008
12.80
Final Performances: September 30, 2008
10.23
2007–08
Tuesday 9:00 pm (June 17 – August 5)
Tuesday 8:00 pm (after August 26)

1

Season Finale: October 1, 2008
12.55
Wednesday 9:00 pm
(after August 27)

1

4[79][80][81]
June 23, 2009
11.30
Final Performances: September 15, 2009
13.84
2008–09
Tuesday 9:00 pm

1

Season Finale: September 16, 2009
15.53
Wednesday 9:00 pm

1

5[82][83]
June 1, 2010
12.35
Final Performances: September 14, 2010
14.60
2009–10
Tuesday 9:00 pm

1

Season Finale: September 15, 2010
16.41
Wednesday 9:00 pm

1

6[84][85][86]
May 31, 2011
15.28
Final Performances: September 13, 2011
13.67
2010–11
Tuesday 8:00 pm (May 31 – July 5)
Tuesday 9:00 pm (after July 5)
12.65
1

Season Finale: September 14, 2011
14.37
Wednesday 9:00 pm
(after June 22)
11.49[87]
1

7[88][89][90]
May 14, 2012
10.48
Final Performances: September 12, 2012
11.05
2011-12
Monday 8:00 pm (May 14 – July 3)
Tuesday 8:00 pm (after July 3)
10.48[91]
1

Season Finale: September 13, 2012
10.59
Tuesday 9:00 pm (May 14 – July 3)
Wednesday 9:00 pm (after July 3)
10.58[87]
1

8[92][93][94]
June 4, 2013
12.41
Final Performances: September 17, 2013
11.19
2012–13
Tuesday 8:00 pm
11.22[95]
1

Season Finale: September 18, 2013
11.49
Wednesday 8:00 pm
(after July 10)
10.34[96]
1

9[97][98][99]
May 27, 2014
12.00
Final Performances: September 16, 2014
11.46
2013–14
Tuesday 8:00 pm (May 27 – July 15)
Tuesday 9:00 pm (after July 22)
10.31[100]
1

Season Finale: September 17, 2014
12.21
Wednesday 9:00 pm
(after July 23)
10.37[101]
1

10[102][103][104]
May 26, 2015
11.09
Final Performances: September 15, 2015
11.33
2014–15
Tuesday 8:00 pm
10.70[105]
1

Season Finale: September 16, 2015
9.54
Wednesday 8:00 pm
(after August 12)
9.07[106]
1

11[107][108][109]
May 31, 2016
11.67
Final Performances: September 13, 2016
13.97
2015–16
Tuesday 8:00 pm
11.71[110]
1

Season Finale: September 14, 2016
14.41
Wednesday 8:00 pm
(after July 5)
10.97[111]
1

12[112][113][114]
May 30, 2017
12.37
Final Performances: September 19, 2017
14.70
2016–17
Tuesday 8:00 pm
12.90[115]
1

Season Finale: September 20, 2017
15.64
Wednesday 8:00 pm
(after August 9)
12.00[116]
1

13[117]
May 29, 2018
12.16
Final Performances: September, 2018
TBA
2017–18
Tuesday 8:00 pm
TBA
TBA

Season Finale: September, 2018
TBA

TBA
TBA

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text:
Year
Association
Category
Result
Ref.

2011
People's Choice Awards
Favorite Competition Show
Nominated
[118]

Kids' Choice Awards
Favorite Reality Show
Nominated
[119]

Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Hairstyling For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special
Nominated
[120]

2012
Kids' Choice Awards
Favorite Reality Show
Nominated
[121]

Teen Choice Awards
Choice Summer TV Show
Nominated
[122]

Choice Male TV Personality: Nick Cannon
Nominated
[123]

2013
Kids' Choice Awards
Favorite Reality Show
Nominated
[124]

2014
People's Choice Awards
Favorite TV Competition Show
Nominated
[125]

Kids' Choice Awards
Favorite Reality Show
Nominated
[126]

2015
People's Choice Awards
Favorite TV Competition Show
Nominated
[127]

Kids' Choice Awards
Favorite Talent Competition Show
Nominated
[128]

2016
People's Choice Awards
Favorite TV Competition Show
Won
[129]

Kids' Choice Awards
Favorite Talent Competition Show
Nominated
[130]

2017
Critics' Choice Awards
Best Reality Series - Competition
Nominated

People's Choice Awards
Favorite TV Competition Show
Nominated
[129]

Kids' Choice Awards
Favorite Reality Show
Won

2018
Critics' Choice Awards
Best Reality Series - Competition
Nominated

text: Top-selling albums by former contestants[edit]

text: Sales numbers and rankings are U.S. sales only.

text:
Rank
Former contestant
Total US sales
Albums

1
Jackie Evancho
(season 5, runner-up)
3,000,000+[131]

Prelude to a Dream (2009) No. 121[132]
O Holy Night (2010) No. 2 (Platinum certification)[133]
Dream with Me (2011) No. 2 (Gold certification)[133][134]
Heavenly Christmas (2011) No. 11[133][135]
Songs from the Silver Screen (2012) No. 7[136]
Awakening (2014) No. 17[137][138]
Someday at Christmas (2016) No. 93[139]
Two Hearts (2017) No. 100[140] (Evancho's 7th consecutive No. 1 ranking on the Classical Albums Chart)[141]

2
Lindsey Stirling
(season 5 quarterfinalist)
856,000+[142]

Lindsey Stirling (2012) No. 23
Shatter Me (2014) No. 2
Brave Enough (2016) No. 5

3
The Texas Tenors
(season 4, 4th place)
500,000+[143]

The Texas Tenors (album)|Country Roots, Classical Sound: Remastered Special Edition (2011) No. 1 Classical Catalog Albums chart[144]
O Night Divine (2013) No. 13 Classical Albums chart[145]
You Should Dream (2013) No. 111; No. 5 Classical Albums chart[146]
First 5 Years Live (2014) No. 1 Classical Catalog Albums chart[144]
Rise (2017) No. 22; No. 1 Classical Albums Chart[147]

4
Grace VanderWaal
(season 11 winner)
200,000+[148]

Perfectly Imperfect (2016) No. 4
Just the Beginning (2017) No. 22

5
Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr.
(season 6 winner)
156,000+[149]

That's Life (2011) No. 34[150]
Christmas Made for Two (2013) did not chart

6
Bianca Ryan
(season 1 winner)
150,000+[151]

Bianca Ryan (2006) No. 57
Christmas Everyday (2007) did not chart
The True Meaning of Christmas (2009) did not chart

7
Cas Haley
(season 2 runner-up)
40,000+[152][153]

Cas Haley (2008) No. 8
Connection (2010) did not chart
La Si Dah (2013) did not chart

8
Michael Grimm
(season 5 winner)
22,000+[154]

Michael Grimm Live (2007) did not chart
I Am Michael Grimm (2009) did not chart
Leave Your Hat On (2010) No. 101
Michael Grimm (2011) No. 13

9
Neal E. Boyd
(season 3 winner)
6,000+[155]

My American Dream (2009) No. 195

text: Contestants who have competed on other reality shows[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Many acts which have competed on America's Got Talent but were ultimately eliminated before the final round have either previously competed on or went on to compete in a number of other reality shows, most notably American Idol and America's Best Dance Crew.

text: The following America's Got Talent (AGT) contestants also appeared on American Idol (AI):

text:
AGT
Season
Year
Contestant
AI
Season
Year
Outcome

1
2006
Jessica Sanchez
11
2012
Runner-up

3
2008
Holli Harden
9
2010
Appeared

4
2009
Thia Megia
10
2011
Finished in the Top 11

4, 9
2009, 2014
Kelli Glover
1
2002
Appeared

6
2011
Shevonne Phillidor
15
2016
Appeared

9
2014
Nick Fradiani, member of Beach Avenue
14
2015
Winner

10
2015
Jenna Renae
15
2016
Top 24

11
2016
Sal Valentinetti
14
2015
Appeared

text: The following America's Got Talent (AGT) contestants also appeared on America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC):

text:
AGT
Season
Year
Contestant
ABDC
Season
Year
Outcome

2
2007
Jabbawockeez
1
2008
Champions

3
2008
Extreme Dance FX
5
2010
Competed as Blended Projekt

3, 4
2008, 2009
SQ Entertainment
1
2008
Runner-up

4
2009
BreakSk8
1
2008
Finished in fourth place

4
2009
FootworKINGz
6
2011
Competed

5
2010
Rated Next Generation (RNG)
7
2012
Finished in Top Four

5
2010
Strikers All-Stars
3
2009
Finished in Top Four

7
2012
787 Crew
6
2011
Competed

9
2014
Flight Crew Jump Rope
5
2010
Finished in fifth place, and competed as Saltare

text: The following America's Got Talent (AGT) contestants also appeared on these other shows:

text:
AGT
Season
Year
Contestant
Show
Season
Year
Network
Outcome

1
2006
Tonya Kay, member of Trey Knight's Stilt World
Who Wants to Be a Superhero?
1
2006
SyFy
5th Place

2
2007
Tammie Brown
RuPaul's Drag Race
1
2009
Logo
8th Place

2
2007
Tika "Sweetie" Rainn
Flavor of Love
1
2006
VH1
8th Place

3
2008
Derrick Barry
RuPaul's Drag Race
8
2016
Logo
5th Place

5
2010
Justin Hopkins
The Voice
2
2012
NBC
Advanced to Battle Rounds

5
2010
Murray SawChuck
Celebracadabra
1
2008
VH1
Appeared

5
2010
Alice Tan Ridley
30 Seconds to Fame
Pilot
2002
Fox
Winner

6
2011
Dani Shay
The Glee Project
2
2012
Oxygen
Appeared

7
2012
Trisha Paytas
Who Wants to Be a Superhero?
2
2007
SyFy
7th Place

7
2012
Horse
American Ninja Warrior
4
2012
G4 and NBC
Competed

7
2012
Bria Kelly
The Voice
6
2014
NBC
Advanced to Top 10 on Team Usher

7
2012
Academy of Villains
Fake Off
2
2015
TruTV
Appeared

7
2012
Lightwire Theatre
Fake Off
1
2014
TruTV
Winners

7, 8
2012, 2013
D'Angelo and Amanda
Live to Dance
1
2011
CBS
Winners

7
2015
Ben Blaque
Britain's Got Talent
10
2010
ITV
Advanced to the semi-finals

8
2015
Alexandr Magala
Britain's Got Talent
10
2010
ITV
9th place

8
2013
Kennedy Davenport
RuPaul's Drag Race
7
2015
Logo
4th Place

8
2013
Tummy Talk
The Gong Show
1
2017
ABC
Appeared

8
2013
Angela Hoover
First Impressions
1
2016
USA Network
Appeared

8
2013
KriStef Brothers
Fake Off
1
2014
TruTV
7th Place

8
2013
Taylor Williamson
Last Comic Standing
7
2010
NBC
Semifinalist

9
2014
Adrian Romoff
Child Genius
2
2016
Lifetime
Winner

10
2015
Leroy Patterson
Solitary
2
2007
Fox Reality
7th Place

10
2015
Myq Kaplan
Last Comic Standing
7
2010
NBC
Finalist

10
2015
Freelusion Dance Company
Fake Off
1
2014
TruTV
Fourth place, appeared as Freelusion USA

10
2015
Piff the Magic Dragon
Penn & Teller: Fool Us
1
2011
2014
ITV (U.K.)
The CW (U.S.)
Appeared

10
2015
Stevie Starr
Britain's Got Talent
4
2010
ITV
Advanced to the semi-finals[156]

11
2016
Cory Kahaney
Last Comic Standing
1
2003
NBC
Finalist

11
2016
Laura Bretan
Romania's Got Talent
6
2016
Pro TV
Winner[157]

13
2018
The Sacred Riana
Asia's Got Talent
2
2017
AXN Asia
Winner[158]

13
2018
Yumbo Dump
Asia's Got Talent
2
2017
AXN Asia
Semifinalist[159]

text: International broadcasts[edit]

text: In Indonesia, the eleventh season has currently been broadcast by NET. since October 22, 2016 every Saturday and Sunday at 10 pm WIB.[160] But, since Monday, October 31, in addition to the weekend slot, the show has also been broadcast every Monday to Friday at 5 pm WIB as the replacement of the currently concluded TV drama, the second season of Kesempurnaan Cinta, which was concluded on Friday, October 28, 2016.[161]

text: In the United Kingdom, TruTV, along with simulcasts on the Made Television network, show America's Got Talent, with TruTV showing it from the tenth season.

text: The thirteenth season of the show will air on AXN Asia, together with the twelfth series of Britain's Got Talent.


document_title: Triangular trade

question_text: what was traded along the triangular trade route

root

text: Triangular trade

text: Atlantic triangular slave trade[edit]

text:
Part of a series on
Slavery

Contemporary[show]

Child labour
Child soldiers
Conscription
Debt
Forced marriage

Bride buying
Wife selling

Forced prostitution
Human trafficking
Peonage
Penal labour
Sexual slavery
Wage slavery

Historical[show]

Antiquity

Ancient Rome
Babylonia
Ancient Greece

Topics and practices

Atlantic slave trade

Middle Passage

Arab slave trade

Ghilman
Mamluk
Saqaliba

Aztec
Blackbirding
Byzantine Empire
Coolie
Corvée labor
Field slaves in the United States
House slaves
Kholop
Medieval Europe
Panyarring
Thrall
Serfs

History
Russia

Slave market
Slave raiding
Child soldiers

Naval

Galley slave
Impressment
Pirates
Shanghaiing
Slave ship

By country or region[show]

Sub-Saharan Africa

Contemporary Africa
Slavery on the Barbary Coast
Barbary slave trade
Slave Coast
Angola
Chad
Ethiopia
Mali
Mauritania
Niger
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Seychelles

North and South America

Americas indigenous

U.S. Natives

Brazil

Lei Áurea

Canada
Caribbean

Barbados
Code Noir

Cuba
Haiti

revolt
Restavek

Latin America
Puerto Rico
Trinidad
United States

colonial
maps
female
partus
penal labor
Slave codes
interregional
Human trafficking

Virgin Islands

Central, East, and South Asia

Human trafficking in Southeast Asia
Bhutan
China

Booi Aha
Laogai

India

Debt bondage
Chukri System

Japan

comfort women

South Korea

Yankee princess

North Korea
Vietnam

Australia and Oceania

Blackbirding in Australia
Human trafficking in Australia
Slave raiding in Easter Island
Human trafficking in Papua New Guinea
Blackbirding in Polynesia

Europe and North Asia

Sex trafficking in Europe
Britain
Denmark
Dutch Republic
Germany in World War II
Malta
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Spain

colonies

Sweden

North Africa and West Asia

Iran
Libya
Human trafficking in the Middle East
Ottoman Empire
Yemen

Religion[show]

Bible
Christianity

Catholicism
Mormonism

Islam

21st century

Judaism
Bahá'í Faith

Opposition and resistance[show]

Timeline
Abolitionism

U.K.
U.S.

Anti-Slavery International
Blockade of Africa

U.K.
U.S.

Colonization

Liberia
Sierra Leone

Compensated emancipation
Freedman

manumission

Freedom suit
Abolitionists
Slave Power
Underground Railroad

songs

Slave rebellion
Slave Trade Acts
International law
13th Amendment to the United States Constitution

Related[show]

Common law
Indentured servitude
Unfree labour
Fugitive slaves

laws
Great Dismal Swamp maroons

List of slaves

owners

Slave narrative

films
songs

Slave name
Slave catcher
Slave patrol
Slave Route Project
Treatment in U.S.

breeding
court cases
Washington
Jefferson
Adams
Lincoln
40 acres
Freedmen's Bureau
bit

Emancipation Day

v
t
e

tag: table

text: The best-known triangular trading system is the transatlantic slave trade, that operated from the late 16th to early 19th centuries, carrying slaves, cash crops, and manufactured goods between West Africa, Caribbean or American colonies and the European colonial powers, with the northern colonies of British North America, especially New England, sometimes taking over the role of Europe.[1] The use of African slaves was fundamental to growing colonial cash crops, which were exported to Europe. European goods, in turn, were used to purchase African slaves, who were then brought on the sea lane west from Africa to the Americas, the so-called Middle Passage.[2] Despite being driven primarily by economic needs, Europeans sometimes had a religious justification for their actions. In 1452, for instance, Pope Nicholas V, in the Dum Diversas, granted to the kings of Spain and Portugal "full and free permission to invade, search out, capture, and subjugate the Saracens [Muslims] and pagans and any other unbelievers ... and to reduce their persons into perpetual slavery."[3]

tag: p

text: A classic example is the colonial molasses trade. Sugar (often in its liquid form, molasses) from the Caribbean was traded to Europe or New England, where it was distilled into rum. The profits from the sale of sugar were used to purchase manufactured goods, which were then shipped to West Africa, where they were bartered for slaves. The slaves were then brought back to the Caribbean to be sold to sugar planters. The profits from the sale of the slaves were then used to buy more sugar, which was shipped to Europe, restarting the cycle. The trip itself took five to twelve weeks.

text: The first leg of the triangle was from a European port to Africa, in which ships carried supplies for sale and trade, such as copper, cloth, trinkets, slave beads, guns and ammunition.[4] When the ship arrived, its cargo would be sold or bartered for slaves. On the second leg, ships made the journey of the Middle Passage from Africa to the New World. Many slaves died of disease in the crowded holds of the slave ships. Once the ship reached the New World, enslaved survivors were sold in the Caribbean or the American colonies. The ships were then prepared to get them thoroughly cleaned, drained, and loaded with export goods for a return voyage, the third leg, to their home port,[5] from the West Indies the main export cargoes were sugar, rum, and molasses; from Virginia, tobacco and hemp. The ship then returned to Europe to complete the triangle.

text: However, because of several disadvantages that slave ships faced compared to other trade ships, they often returned to their home port carrying whatever goods were readily available in the Americas and filled up a large part or all of their capacity with ballast. Other disadvantages include the different form of the ships (to carry as many humans as possible, but not ideal to carry a maximum amount of produce) and the variations in the duration of a slave voyage, making it practically impossible to pre-schedule appointments in the Americas, which meant that slave ships often arrived in the Americas out-of-season. When the ships did reach their intended ports, only about 90% of the passengers survived the journey across the middle passage. Due to the slaves being transported in tight, confined spaces, a small percentage of the group that started perished at the hands of disease and lack of nourishment.[6][unreliable source?] Cash crops were transported mainly by a separate fleet which only sailed from Europe to the Americas and back mitigating the impact the slaves involvement brought forth. The Triangular trade is a trade model, not an exact description of the ship's route.[7]

text: A 2017 study provides evidence for the hypothesis that the export of gunpowder technology to Africa increased the transatlantic slave trade by making it easier for Africans to enslave each other: "A one percent increase in gunpowder set in motion a 5-year gun-slave cycle that increased slave exports by an average of 50%, and the impact continued to grow over time."[8]

text: New England[edit]

text: New England also benefited from the trade, as many merchants from New England, especially the state of Rhode Island, replaced the role of Europe in the triangle. New England also made rum from Caribbean sugar and molasses, which it shipped to Africa as well as within the New World.[9] Yet, the "triangle trade" as considered in relation to New England was a piecemeal operation. No New England traders are known to have completed a sequential circuit of the full triangle, which took a calendar year on average, according to historian Clifford Shipton.[10] The concept of the New England Triangular trade was first suggested, inconclusively, in an 1866 book by George H. Moore, was picked up in 1872 by historian George C. Mason, and reached full consideration from a lecture in 1887 by American businessman and historian William B. Weeden.[11] The song "Molasses to Rum" from the musical 1776 vividly describes this form of the triangular trade.

text: Other triangular trades[edit]

text: The term "triangular trade" also refers to a variety of other trades.

text:
A trade pattern which evolved before the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain, the Colonies of British North America, and British colonies in the Caribbean. This typically involved exporting raw resources, such as fish (especially salt cod), agricultural produce or lumber, from British North American colonies to slaves and planters in the West Indies; sugar and molasses from the Caribbean; and various manufactured commodities from Great Britain.[12]
The shipment of Newfoundland salt cod and corn from Boston in British vessels to southern Europe.[13] This also included the shipment of wine and olive oil to Britain.
A new "sugar triangle" developed in the 1820s and 1830s whereby American ships took local produce to Cuba, then brought sugar or coffee from Cuba to the Baltic coast (Russian Empire and Sweden), then bar iron and hemp back to New England.[14]

tag: ul


document_title: Regulatory capture

question_text: at what point does an association become an interest group

text: Regulatory capture

text: Theory[edit]

text: For public choice theorists, regulatory capture occurs because groups or individuals with a high-stakes interest in the outcome of policy or regulatory decisions can be expected to focus their resources and energies in attempting to gain the policy outcomes they prefer, while members of the public, each with only a tiny individual stake in the outcome, will ignore it altogether.[2] Regulatory capture refers to the actions by interest groups when this imbalance of focused resources devoted to a particular policy outcome is successful at "capturing" influence with the staff or commission members of the regulatory agency, so that the preferred policy outcomes of the special interest groups are implemented.

text: ... as a rule, regulation is acquired by the industry and is designed and operated primarily for its benefit... We propose the general hypothesis: every industry or occupation that has enough political power to utilize the state will seek to control entry. In addition, the regulatory policy will often be so fashioned as to retard the rate of growth of new firms. -- The Theory of Economic Regulation, George Stigler, 1971[3]

tag: div

text: Regulatory capture theory is a core focus of the branch of public choice referred to as the economics of regulation; economists in this specialty are critical of conceptualizations of governmental regulatory intervention as being motivated to protect public good. Often cited articles include Bernstein (1955), Huntington (1952), Laffont & Tirole (1991), and Levine & Forrence (1990). The theory of regulatory capture is associated with Nobel laureate economist George Stigler,[4] one of its main developers.[5]

text: Likelihood of regulatory capture is a risk to which an agency is exposed by its very nature.[6] This suggests that a regulatory agency should be protected from outside influence as much as possible. Alternatively, it may be better to not create a given agency at all lest the agency become victim, in which case it may serve its regulated subjects rather than those whom the agency was designed to protect. A captured regulatory agency is often worse than no regulation, because it wields the authority of government. However, increased transparency of the agency may mitigate the effects of capture. Recent evidence suggests that, even in mature democracies with high levels of transparency and media freedom, more extensive and complex regulatory environments are associated with higher levels of corruption (including regulatory capture).[7]

text: Relationship with federalism[edit]

text: There is substantial academic literature suggesting that smaller government units are easier for small, concentrated industries to capture than large ones. For example, a group of states or provinces with a large timber industry might have their legislature and/or their delegation to the national legislature captured by lumber companies. These states or provinces then becomes the voice of the industry, even to the point of blocking national policies that would be preferred by the majority across the whole federation. Moore and Giovinazzo (2012) call this "distortion gap".[8]

text: The opposite scenario is possible with very large industries, however. Very large and powerful industries (e.g. energy, banking, weapon system construction) can capture national governments, and then use that power to block policies at the federal, state or provincial level that the voters may want,[9] although even local interests can thwart national priorities.[10]

text: Economic rationale[edit]

text: The idea of regulatory capture has an obvious economic basis, in that vested interests in an industry have the greatest financial stake in regulatory activity and are more likely to be motivated to influence the regulatory body than dispersed individual consumers,[2] each of whom has little particular incentive to try to influence regulators. When regulators form expert bodies to examine policy, this invariably features current or former industry members, or at the very least, individuals with contacts in the industry.

text: Some economists, such as Jon Hanson and his co-authors, argue that the phenomenon extends beyond just political agencies and organizations. Businesses have an incentive to control anything that has power over them, including institutions from the media, academia and popular culture, thus they will try to capture them as well. This phenomenon is called "deep capture".[11]

text: Types[edit]

text: There are two basic types of regulatory capture:[12][13]

text:
Materialist capture, also called financial capture, in which the captured regulator's motive is based on its material self-interest. This can result from bribery, revolving doors, political donations, or the regulator's desire to maintain its government funding. These forms of capture often amount to political corruption.
Non-materialist capture, also called cognitive capture or cultural capture, in which the regulator begins to think like the regulated industry. This can result from interest-group lobbying by the industry.

text: Another distinction can be made between capture retained by big firms and by small firms.[14] While Stigler mainly referred, in his work,[15] to large firms capturing regulators by bartering their vast resources (materialist capture) – small firms are more prone to retain non-materialist capture via a special underdog rhetoric.[14]

text: Examples[edit]

text: United States examples[edit]

text: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement[edit]

text: In the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Minerals Management Service (MMS), which had regulatory responsibility for offshore oil drilling, was widely cited as an example of regulatory capture.[16][17] The MMS then became the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and on October 1, 2010, the collection of mineral leases was split off from the agency and placed under the Department of the Interior as the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR). On October 1, 2011, BOEMRE was then split into two bureaus, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).[18]

text: The three-stage reorganization, including the name change to BOEMRE, was part of a re-organization by Ken Salazar,[18] who was sworn into office as the new Secretary of the Interior on the same day the name change was announced.[19] Salazar's appointment was controversial because of his ties to the energy industry.[20] As a senator, Salazar voted against an amendment to repeal tax breaks for ExxonMobil and other major petroleum companies[21] and in 2006, he voted to end protections that limit offshore oil drilling in Florida's Gulf Coast.[22] One of Salazar's immediate tasks was to "[end] the department's coziness with the industries it regulates"[20] but Daniel R. Patterson, a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, said "Salazar has a disturbingly weak conservation record, particularly on energy development, global warming, endangered wildlife and protecting scientific integrity. It's no surprise oil and gas, mining, agribusiness and other polluting industries that have dominated Interior are supporting rancher Salazar – he's their friend."[20] Indeed, a spokesman for the National Mining Association, which lobbies for the mining industry, praised Salazar, saying that he was not doctrinaire about the use of public lands.[20]

text: MMS had allowed BP and dozens of other companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first attaining permits to assess threats to endangered species, as required by law.[23] BP and other companies were also given a blanket exemption from having to provide environmental impact statements.[23] The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued strong warnings about the risks posed by such drilling and in a 2009 letter, accused MMS of understating the likelihood and potential consequences of a major spill in the Gulf of Mexico.[23] The letter further accused MMS of highlighting the safety of offshore drilling while understating the risks and impact of spills and playing down the fact that spills had been increasing.[23] Both current and former MMS staff scientists said their reports were overruled and altered if they found high risk of accident or environmental impact.[23] Kieran Suckling, director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said, "MMS has given up any pretense of regulating the offshore oil industry. The agency seems to think its mission is to help the oil industry evade environmental laws."[23]

text: After the Deepwater accident occurred, Salazar said he would delay granting any further drilling permits. Three weeks later, at least five more permits had been issued by the minerals agency.[23] In March 2011, BOEMRE began issuing more offshore drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico.[24] Michael Bromwich, head of BOEMRE, said he was disturbed by the speed at which some oil and gas companies were shrugging off Deepwater Horizon as "a complete aberration, a perfect storm, one in a million," but would nonetheless soon be granting more permits to drill for oil and gas in the gulf.[24]

text: Commodity Futures Trading Commission[edit]

text: In October 2010, George H. Painter, one of the two Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) administrative law judges, retired, and in the process requested that his cases not be assigned to the other judge, Bruce C. Levine.[25] Painter wrote, "On Judge Levine's first week on the job, nearly twenty years ago, he came into my office and stated that he had promised Wendy Gramm, then Chairwoman of the Commission, that we would never rule in a complainant's favor," Painter wrote.[25] "A review of his rulings will confirm that he fulfilled his vow." In further explaining his request, he wrote, "Judge Levine, in the cynical guise of enforcing the rules, forces pro se complainants to run a hostile procedural gauntlet until they lose hope, and either withdraw their complaint or settle for a pittance, regardless of the merits of the case."[25] Gramm, wife of former Senator Phil Gramm, was accused of helping Goldman Sachs, Enron and other large firms gain influence over the commodity markets. After leaving the CFTC, Wendy Gramm joined the board of Enron.[25]

text: Environmental Protection Agency[edit]

text: Natural gas drilling increased in the United States after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in 2004 that hydraulic fracturing "posed little or no threat" to drinking water.[26] Also known as "fracking", the process was invented by Halliburton in the 1940s.[27] Whistleblower Weston Wilson says that the EPA's conclusions were "unsupportable" and that five of the seven-member review panel that made the decision had conflicts of interest.[26] A New York Times editorial said the 2004 study "whitewashed the industry and was dismissed by experts as superficial and politically motivated."[27] The EPA is currently prohibited by law from regulating fracking, the result of the "Halliburton Loophole," a clause added to the 2005 energy bill at the request of then-vice president Dick Cheney, who was CEO of Halliburton before becoming vice president.[26][27] Legislation to close the loophole and restore the EPA's authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing has been referred to committee in both the House and the Senate.[28][29]

text: Federal Aviation Administration[edit]

text: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a dual-mandate both to promote aviation and to regulate its safety. A report by the Department of Transportation that found FAA managers had allowed Southwest Airlines to fly 46 airplanes in 2006 and 2007 that were overdue for safety inspections, ignoring concerns raised by inspectors. Audits of other airlines resulted in two airlines grounding hundreds of planes, causing thousands of flight cancellations.[30] The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee investigated the matter after two FAA whistleblowers, inspectors Charalambe "Bobby" Boutris and Douglas E. Peters, contacted them. Boutris said he attempted to ground Southwest after finding cracks in the fuselage, but was prevented by supervisors he said were friendly with the airline.[31] The committee subsequently held hearings in April 2008. James Oberstar, former chairman of the committee said its investigation uncovered a pattern of regulatory abuse and widespread regulatory lapses, allowing 117 aircraft to be operated commercially although not in compliance with FAA safety rules.[31] Oberstar said there was a "culture of coziness" between senior FAA officials and the airlines and "a systematic breakdown" in the FAA's culture that resulted in "malfeasance, bordering on corruption."[31]

text: On July 22, 2008, a bill was unanimously approved in the House to tighten regulations concerning airplane maintenance procedures, including the establishment of a whistleblower office and a two-year "cooling off" period that FAA inspectors or supervisors of inspectors must wait before they can work for those they regulated.[30][32] The bill also required rotation of principal maintenance inspectors and stipulated that the word "customer" properly applies to the flying public, not those entities regulated by the FAA.[30] The bill died in a Senate committee that year.[33] In 2008 the FAA proposed to fine Southwest $10.2 million for failing to inspect older planes for cracks,[34] and in 2009 Southwest and the FAA agreed that Southwest would pay a $7.5 million penalty and would adapt new safety procedures, with the fine doubling if Southwest failed to follow through.[35] In September 2009, the FAA administrator issued a directive mandating that the agency use the term "customers" only to refer to the flying public.[36]

text: Prior to the deregulation of the US air industry, the Civil Aeronautics Board served to maintain an oligopoly of US airlines.[37][38]

text: In a June 2010 article on regulatory capture, the FAA was cited as an example of "old-style" regulatory capture, "in which the airline industry openly dictates to its regulators its governing rules, arranging for not only beneficial regulation but placing key people to head these regulators."[39]

text: Federal Communications Commission[edit]

text: Legal scholars have pointed to the possibility that federal agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had been captured by media conglomerates. Peter Schuck of Yale Law School has argued that the FCC is subject to capture by the media industries' leaders and therefore reinforce the operation of corporate cartels in a form of "corporate socialism" that serves to "regressively tax consumers, impoverish small firms, inhibit new entry, stifle innovation, and diminish consumer choice".[40] The FCC selectively granted communications licenses to some radio and television stations in a process that excludes other citizens and little stations from having access to the public.[41]

text: Michael K. Powell, who served on the FCC for eight years and was chairman for four, was appointed president and chief executive officer of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, a lobby group. As of April 25, 2011, he will be the chief lobbyist and the industry's liaison with Congress, the White House, the FCC and other federal agencies.[42]

text: Meredith Attwell Baker was one of the FCC commissioners who approved a controversial merger between NBC Universal and Comcast. Four months later, she announced her resignation from the FCC to join Comcast's Washington, D.C. lobbying office.[43] Legally, she is prevented from lobbying anyone at the FCC for two years and an agreement made by Comcast with the FCC as a condition of approving the merger will ban her from lobbying any executive branch agency for life.[43] Nonetheless, Craig Aaron, of Free Press, who opposed the merger, complained that "the complete capture of government by industry barely raises any eyebrows" and said public policy would continue to suffer from the "continuously revolving door at the FCC".[43]

text: Ajit V. Pai, a former lawyer for Verizon, is the current FCC chairman.[44]

text: Federal Reserve Bank of New York[edit]

text: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (New York Fed) is the most influential of the Federal Reserve Banking System. Part of the New York Fed's responsibilities is the regulation of Wall Street, but its president is selected by and reports to a board dominated by the chief executives of some of the banks it oversees.[45] While the New York Fed has always had a closer relationship with Wall Street, during the years that Timothy Geithner was president, he became unusually close with the scions of Wall Street banks,[45] a time when banks and hedge funds were pursuing investment strategies that caused the 2008 financial crisis, which the Fed failed to stop.

text: During the financial crisis, several major banks that were on the verge of collapse were rescued with government emergency funding.[45] Geithner engineered the New York Fed's purchase of $30 billion of credit default swaps from American International Group (AIG), which it had sold to Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale. By purchasing these contracts, the banks received a "back-door bailout" of 100 cents on the dollar for the contracts.[46] Had the New York Fed allowed AIG to fail, the contracts would have been worth much less, resulting in much lower costs for any taxpayer-funded bailout.[46] Geithner defended his use[46] of unprecedented amounts of taxpayer funds to save the banks from their own mistakes,[45] saying the financial system would have been threatened. At the January 2010 congressional hearing into the AIG bailout, the New York Fed initially refused to identify the counterparties that benefited from AIG's bailout, claiming the information would harm AIG.[46] When it became apparent this information would become public, a legal staffer at the New York Fed e-mailed colleagues to warn them, lamenting the difficulty of continuing to keep Congress in the dark.[46] Jim Rickards calls the bailout a crime and says "the regulatory system has become captive to the banks and the non-banks".[47]

text: Food and Drug Administration[edit]

text: Some[who?] have accused The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of acting in the interests of the agricultural, food and pharmaceutical industries at the expense of consumer health interests. One example cited by critics is the approval of recombinant Bovine somatotropin, in which were involved three FDA employees with ties to Monsanto, the company that was seeking approval, namely Margaret Miller, Michael R. Taylor, and Suzanne Sechen.[48][49] However, in response to a lawsuit that was brought by Jeremy Rifkin with respect to potential conflicts of interest, the FDA released the results of an internal audit that found no conflicts[50] and in 1992 the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) conducted an investigation and found 'no conflicting financial interests with respect to the drug's approval' and only 'one minor deviation from now superseded FDA regulations'. (Quotations are from the 1994 GAO report)".[49][51]

text: Interstate Commerce Commission[edit]

text: Historians, political scientists, and economists have often used the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), a now-defunct federal regulatory body in the United States, as a classic example of regulatory capture. The creation of the ICC was the result of widespread and longstanding anti-railroad agitation. Richard Olney joined the Grover Cleveland administration as attorney general not long after the ICC was established. Olney, formerly a prominent railroad lawyer, was asked if he could do something to get rid of the ICC.[16] He replied,

text: "The Commission… is, or can be made, of great use to the railroads. It satisfies the popular clamor for a government supervision of the railroads, at the same time that supervision is almost entirely nominal. Further, the older such a commission gets to be, the more inclined it will be found to take the business and railroad view of things.… The part of wisdom is not to destroy the Commission, but to utilize it."[16]

text: The Commission was later accused of acting in the interests of railroads and trucking companies. The ICC, critics claimed, set rates at artificially high levels and excluded new competitors through a restrictive permitting process.[52]

text: While the Interstate Commerce Act forbade "undue and unreasonable prejudice" against interstate passengers, in the sixty-six years before Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company (1955) the ICC had ruled against every black petitioner bringing a racial segregation complaint, earning the nickname "The Supreme Court of the Confederacy".[53] The ICC then failed to enforce Keys vs. Carolina Coach, attempting to justify segregation on a separate but equal basis for six years before being forced by the Department of Justice under then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to act in response to the Freedom Riders protests of 1961.[54]

text: Nuclear Regulatory Commission[edit]

text: According to Frank N. von Hippel, despite the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has often been too timid in ensuring that America's 104 commercial reactors are operated safely:

text: "Nuclear power is a textbook example of the problem of "regulatory capture"—in which an industry gains control of an agency meant to regulate it. Regulatory capture can be countered only by vigorous public scrutiny and Congressional oversight, but in the 32 years since Three Mile Island, interest in nuclear regulation has declined precipitously."[55]

text: Then-candidate Barack Obama said in 2007 that the five-member NRC had become "captive of the industries that it regulates" and Joe Biden indicated he had absolutely no confidence in the agency.[56]

text: The NRC has given a license to "every single reactor requesting one", according Greenpeace USA nuclear policy analyst Jim Riccio to refer to the agency approval process as a "rubber stamp".[57] In Vermont, ten days after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that damaged Japan's Daiichi plant in Fukushima, the NRC approved a 20-year extension for the license of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, although the Vermont state legislature had voted overwhelmingly to deny such an extension.[57][58] The Vermont plant uses the same GE Mark 1 reactor design as the Fukushima Daiichi plant.[57] The plant had been found to be leaking radioactive materials through a network of underground pipes, which Entergy, the company running the plant, had denied under oath even existed. Representative Tony Klein, who chaired the Vermont House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, said that when he asked the NRC about the pipes at a hearing in 2009, the NRC didn't know about their existence, much less that they were leaking.[57] On March 17, 2011, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released a study critical of the NRC's 2010 performance as a regulator. The UCS said that through the years, it had found the NRC's enforcement of safety rules has not been "timely, consistent, or effective" and it cited 14 "near-misses" at U.S. plants in 2010 alone.[59] Tyson Slocum, an energy expert at Public Citizen said the nuclear industry has "embedded itself in the political establishment" through "reliable friends from George Bush to Barack Obama", that the government "has really just become cheerleaders for the industry."[60]

text: Although the exception, there have been instances of a revolving door. Jeffrey Merrifield, who was on the NRC from 1997 to 2008 and was appointed by presidents Clinton and Bush, left the NRC to take an executive position at The Shaw Group,[57] which has a nuclear division regulated by the NRC.[note 1] However, most former commissioners return to academia or public service in other agencies.

text: A year-long Associated Press (AP) investigation showed that the NRC, working with the industry, has relaxed regulations so that aging reactors can remain in operation.[61] The AP found that wear and tear of plants, such as clogged lines, cracked parts, leaky seals, rust and other deterioration resulted in 26 alerts about emerging safety problems and may have been a factor in 113 of the 226 alerts issued by the NRC between 2005 and June 2011.[61] The NRC repeatedly granted the industry permission to delay repairs and problems often grew worse before they were fixed.[61][note 2]

text: However, a paper by Stanford University economics professors John B. Taylor and Frank A. Wolak compared the financial services and nuclear industries. While acknowledging both are susceptible in principle to regulatory capture, they concluded regulatory failure – including through regulatory capture – has been much more of a problem in the financial industry and even suggested the financial industry create an analog to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations to reduce regulatory risk.[62]

text: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency[edit]

text: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has strongly opposed the efforts of the 50 state attorneys general, who have banded together to penalize banks and reform the mortgage modification process, following the subprime mortgage crisis and the financial crisis of 2008. This example was cited in The New York Times as evidence that the OCC is "a captive of the banks it is supposed to regulate".[63]

text: Securities and Exchange Commission[edit]

text: The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also been accused of acting in the interests of Wall Street banks and hedge funds and of dragging its feet or refusing to investigate cases or bring charges for fraud and insider trading.[64] Financial analyst Harry Markopolos, who spent ten years trying to get the SEC to investigate Bernie Madoff, called the agency "nonfunctional, captive to the industry."[65]

text: Similarly in the case of the Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme, there were repeated warnings of fraud from both inside and outside the SEC for more than a decade.[66] But the agency did not stop the fraud until 2009, after the Madoff scandal became public in 2008.

text: The SEC has been found by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, the Senate Judiciary Committee and a federal district court to have illegally dismissed an employee in September 2005 who was critical of superiors' refusal to pursue Wall Street titan John Mack. Mack was suspected of giving insider information to Arthur J. Samberg, head of Pequot Capital Management,[67] once one of the world's largest hedge funds.[68] After more than four years of legal battles, former SEC investigator Gary J. Aguirre filed papers in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case he had against the SEC, seeking an order to force the SEC to turn over Pequot investigation records to him on the grounds that they had not charged anyone. Aguirre had already provided incriminating evidence of Pequot's insider trading involving Microsoft trades to the SEC in a letter on January 2, 2009.[69] The morning after Aguirre's FOIA papers were filed,[69] the SEC announced they had filed charges against Pequot and Pequot had agreed to disgorge $18 million in illegal gains and pay $10 million in penalties.[68][70] A month later, the SEC settled Aguirre's wrongful termination lawsuit for $755,000.[71]

text: The list of officials who have left the SEC for highly lucrative jobs in the private sector and who sometimes have returned to the SEC includes Arthur Levitt, Robert Khuzami,[72] Linda Chatman Thomsen,[73] Richard H. Walker,[74] Gary Lynch[75] and Paul R. Berger.[76] The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) released a report on May 13, 2011 which found that between 2006 and 2010, 219 former SEC employees sought to represent clients before the SEC.[77][78] Former employees filed 789 statements notifying the SEC of their intent to represent outside clients before the commission, some filing within days of leaving the SEC.[77][78]

text: Reporter Matt Taibbi calls the SEC a classic case of regulatory capture[79] and the SEC has been described as an agency that was set up to protect the public from Wall Street, but now protects Wall Street from the public.[80] On August 17, 2011, Taibbi reported that in July 2001, a preliminary fraud investigation against Deutsche Bank was stymied by Richard H. Walker, then SEC enforcement director, who began working as general counsel for Deutsche Bank in October 2001. Darcy Flynn, an SEC lawyer, the whistleblower who exposed this case also revealed that for 20 years, the SEC had been routinely destroying all documents related to thousands of preliminary inquiries that were closed rather than proceeding to formal investigation. The SEC is legally required to keep files for 25 years and destruction is supposed to be done by the National Archives and Records Administration. The lack of files deprives investigators of possible background when investigating cases involving those firms. Documents were destroyed for inquiries into Bernard Madoff, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, Bank of America and other major Wall Street firms that played key roles in the 2008 financial crisis. The SEC has since changed its policy on destroying those documents and the SEC investigator general is investigating the matter.[81][82]

text: Federal Trade Commission[edit]

text: The decision known as In re Amway Corp., and popularly called Amway '79, made the FTC a captive regulator of the nascent Multi-Level Marketing industry. The situation came to a head in December 2012 when hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management announced an $1 billion short position against the company, and evidently expected the FTC to act, which to date it did not. From a forensic accounting standpoint, there is no difference between a Ponzi-scheme like the Madoff scandal, and a pyramid scheme, except that in the latter the money is laundered through product sales, not investment.[83] The press has widely reported on why the FTC won't act, e.g. Forbes[84] though legal opinion has been very supportive in some quarters, such as Prof. William K. Black, who was instrumental in bringing thousands of criminal prosecutions in the S&L scandal, which was also rife with problems of regulatory capture.[85]

text: District of Columbia Taxicab Commission[edit]

text: The District of Columbia Taxicab Commission has been criticized[86] for being beholden to taxi companies and drivers rather than ensuring that the District has access to a "safe, comfortable, efficient and affordable taxicab experience in well-equipped vehicles".[87] In particular, the sedan service Uber has faced impediments from the commission and the city council that have prevented it from competing with taxis.[88] Uber's plan to roll out a less expensive service called UberX was called off after the city council proposed an amendment that would force sedan services to charge at least five times the drop rate of taxis as well as higher time and distance charges, explicitly to prevent Uber from competing with taxis.[89]

text: Washington State Liquor Control Board and I-502[edit]

text: Some commentators have acknowledged that while Washington State's Initiative I-502 "legalized" marijuana, it did so in a manner that led to a State run monopoly on legal marijuana stores with prices far above that of the existing medical dispensaries,[90] which the State is now trying to close down in favor of the recreational stores, where prices are 2 to 5 times higher than the product can be obtained elsewhere.[91]

text: Canadian examples[edit]

text: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission[edit]

text: In August 2009, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) provisionally granted a request by Bell Canada to impose usage-based billing on Internet wholesalers, igniting protest from both the wholesalers and consumers, who claimed that the CRTC was "kow-towing to Bell".[92]

text: On February 2, 2011, CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology to defend the agency's decision. Critic Steve Anderson said, "The CRTC's stubbornness in the face of a mass public outcry demonstrates the strength of the Big Telecom lobby's influence. While government officials have recognized the need to protect citizens' communications interests, the CRTC has made it clear that their priorities lie elsewhere."[93]

text: Japanese examples[edit]

text: In Japan, the line may be blurred between the goal of solving a problem and the somewhat different goal of making it look as if the problem is being addressed.[94]

text: Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency[edit]

text: Despite warnings about its safety, Japanese regulators from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) approved a 10-year extension for the oldest of the six reactors at Fukushima Daiichi just one month before a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami damaged reactors[95] and caused a meltdown. The conclusion to the Diet of Japan's report on Fukushima attributed this directly to regulatory capture.[96]

text: Nuclear opponent[97] Eisaku Sato, governor of Fukushima Prefecture from 1988–2006, said a conflict of interest is responsible for NISA's lack of effectiveness as a watchdog.[95] The agency is under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which encourages the development of Japan's nuclear industry. Inadequate inspections are reviewed by expert panels drawn primarily from academia and rarely challenge the agency.[95] Critics say the main weakness in Japan's nuclear industry is weak oversight.[98] Seismologist Takashi Nakata said, "The regulators just rubber-stamp the utilities' reports."[99]

text: Both the ministry and the agency have ties with nuclear plant operators, such as Tokyo Electric. Some former ministry officials have been offered lucrative jobs in a practice called amakudari, "descent from heaven".[95][98] A panel responsible for re-writing Japan's nuclear safety rules was dominated by experts and advisers from utility companies, said seismology professor Katsuhiko Ishibashi who quit the panel in protest, saying it was rigged and "unscientific".[98][99] The new guidelines, established in 2006, did not set stringent industry-wide earthquake standards, rather nuclear plant operators were left to do their own inspections to ensure their plants were compliant.[98] In 2008, the NISA found all of Japan's reactors to be in compliance with the new earthquake guidelines.[98]

text: Yoshihiro Kinugasa helped write Japan's nuclear safety rules, later conducted inspections and still in another position at another date, served on a licensing panel, signing off on inspections.[99]

text: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)[edit]

text: In 1996, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (now combined with the Ministry of Labour) came under fire over the scandal of HIV-tainted blood being used to treat hemophiliacs.[100]

text: Although warned about HIV contamination of blood products imported from the U.S., the ministry abruptly changed its position on heated and unheated blood products from the U.S., protecting the Green Cross and the Japanese pharmaceutical industry, keeping the Japanese market from being inundated with heat-treated blood from the United States.[100] Because the unheated blood was not taken off the market, 400 people died and over 3,000 people were infected with HIV.[100]

text: No senior officials were indicted and only one lower-level manager was indicted and convicted.[101] Critics say the major task of the ministry is the protection of industry, rather than of the population.[100] In addition, bureaucrats get amakudari jobs at related industries in their field upon retirement, a system which serves to inhibit regulators.[100] Moriyo Kimura, a critic who works at MHLW, says the ministry does not look after the interests of the public.[101]

text: International examples[edit]

text: World Trade Organization[edit]

text: The academic Thomas Alured Faunce has argued the World Trade Organisation non-violation nullification of benefits claims, particularly when inserted in bilateral trade agreements, can facilitate intense lobbying by industry which can result in effective regulatory capture of large areas of governmental policy.[102]