"I have a lot more faith in government--which has proven to be democratic, on occasion--than corporations which offer no levers of consumer control, and lie constantly."
They're not two cleanly separable entities. Industry executives go in to government all the time (often to oversee the regulation of the industries they came from), and when politicians leave office they frequently get hired in to extremely high paying jobs at the very companies they regulated or awarded contracts to while in office.
Former politicians also frequently get hired by corporations to become lobbyists, because they know the system and have a lot of connections in government.
Corporations and government scratch each other's backs so much that it's a wonder there's any effective regulation, consumer protection, or health and safety protections left.
Yeah, everything you're saying is true. I'm comfortable modeling all human endeavors on a gradient from authoritarian to democratic.
I'm currently very vexed with my elected representatives for spending my thousands of tax dollars on an invasion of Venezuela, while excusing Exxon's billions in taxes. I recognize that this is partly facilitated by Exxon's former CEO manipulating Venezuelan politics with black ops while holding the position of Secretary of State. So, far be it from me to proclaim the purity of our governance.
They're not two cleanly separable entities. Industry executives go in to government all the time (often to oversee the regulation of the industries they came from), and when politicians leave office they frequently get hired in to extremely high paying jobs at the very companies they regulated or awarded contracts to while in office.
Former politicians also frequently get hired by corporations to become lobbyists, because they know the system and have a lot of connections in government.
Corporations and government scratch each other's backs so much that it's a wonder there's any effective regulation, consumer protection, or health and safety protections left.