It's always strange to me when people scream about the evils of businessmen and call for increasing government powers, as if somehow politicians are altruistic and couldn't possibly have any of the selfish motives that business owners do. My opinion is that the "check and balance" dynamic in private business is far more responsive and effective than that of the public sector. For example, the fact that my only recourse to bad policy is to vote for an opposition candidate once every 2 years, and choosing between two carefully selected candidates at that. On the other hand, when frustrated with bad business, I vote no with every dollar I spend on the competition. To me, this is a much stronger dynamic keeping corporations in check (at least in retail scenarios). This article was just printed in Rochester, NY and shows how technology increasingly holds business accountable: "Companies saying "oops" in the face of perturbed consumers goes back years... They used to say the switchboard was lighting up when people complained about things like this," said Robert Thompson, media professor and director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. "But sometimes people didn't get through on the switchboard. Now they are, using social media." http://www.democratandchronicle.com...ocial-media?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Business Just imagine if twitter, facebook, and so on actually influenced policy? Oh that's right, it could, but politicians make profit whether their product is popular or not...
