When you look even further up the causal chain you will notice cronyism in all it's glory. How much does Big Pharma (or any other big corporation) lobby the government yearly? (hint, it's in the Billions annually, with a 'B').

Now we know the rest of the story. Now we know why members of Congress and high level government official are so much more wealthy than one would expect considering their salary.

Reagan said ' Government is not the solution, Government is the problem'

To solve the problem dismantle huge portions of government.