Admittedly, many corporations are run quite well and are open about their products and their effect on customers and the environment.
But those who extol corporate efficiency over government efficiency should seriously consider the malfeasance and ineptitude of many companies like Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) whose Fukushima nuclear power complex is rapidly poisoning our planet. Talk about externalities being covered in a "free market", not!
Now the Japanese government has taken over management of the containment, citing the among other things TEPCO's "Whack-a-mole" approach, inadequate monitoring, and faulty record keeping. The president of TEPCO, Naomi Hirose said, "We are very grateful that we are getting government support". He didn't mention all the government subsidies to even get the facility started and running.
It's Adam Smith all over again: this "order… has deceived and oppressed the public."
See "TEPCO 'Whack-a-Mole' Means Government Takeover in Fukushima", Yuji Okada, Takashi Hirokawa, and Jacob Adelman, Bloomberg, 2013-08-26.
