[quote=CA renter]
For one thing, private entities are even less accountable to “We the People” than the govt is. Personally, I fear a powerful, unaccountable group of private capitalists far more than a wealthy government that is run “by the people and for the people.”

The problem arises when a select few essentially take over the govt via corruption and bribery — and when “We the People” have our rights and power stripped from us — so that the elite can do whatever benefits them, to the detriment of everyone else.[/quote]

A powerful government that is unaccountable to no one, is far worse than a secret cabal of robber barons who are at least subject to the laws and government of the United States. There is no check on government except for itself. This is a principle from the founding fathers.

However powerful today’s robber barons are, they are still vulnerable to an essential fact: they are only able to make their money by persuading people to willingly entertain their businesses. If people are not willing to use their service or product, they are finished. Today’s businesses are also vulnerable to the government. They can be broken up or laws can be passed against their practices.

You can assail all you want against businesses, but they cannot forcibly take your money. People have to willingly give it. There is no such restriction on government. If the government wishes to take it, it will.

When businesses succeed, they often bring everyone else with them, not just the head of the company.

No, businesses are not perfect. But they are not in a position of absolute power, like the government. Between those two evils, I would rather choose the businesses, limited by the government and by the power of persuasion, rather than a powerful government, which can only take by force. That’s what the founding fathers knew.