1) False. Each racket also protects payers from the real threat of competing rackets nearby - just like governments and foreign governments.
2) False. The more a racket flaunts their power to induce public fear, the more readily their "clients" will pay up - just like governments and taxes and publicizing punishments for "tax evaders". ---------------------------- your claim that they _were_ protection rackets was obviously false, for at least two reasons: 1) Protection rackets sell protection from themselves, not from others. 2) Protection rackets lack the ability to operate overtly, they can only operate in secret. Governments have the ability to operate overtly.
