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Comment by Spivak | Hacker News Reader

> Members of Congress blast industry for putting profits over safety

Headlines like this make me laugh because it sounds like something is getting done when it's just congresspeople with no actual power making grand speeches that amount to nothing. They really gave those profiteers a real Congressional finger wag!

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It seems odd to criticize an elected representative who comments on the irresponsible behavior of corporations.

Because they can't actually do anything. They don't charge people with negligence or levy fines. The opinion of a congressman on this issue is only slightly more valuable than mine. The regulations they're proposing won't be punitive in any way and won't dare actually disrupt the flow of profits.

And that's fine, that's the point of congress. Now if the DoJ had words to this effect then it might come to something.

counterpoint: the amount of money that congresspeople and potential congress people are paid by corps and interest groups to get elected (i.e. "a lot") suggest that, in fact, their opinions _are_ much more valuable then a non-congresspersons.

The attitude probably reflects decades of effective messaging by big corporations to paint gov as inefficient and corporations as the only solution to problems.

Doesn't seem odd to me - if all someone (an elected person) does is get in front of the camera and make speeches about something a corporation is doing wrong - but never writes/sponsors a bill (and more importantly gets the votes to get it written into law) to fix those bad things - then they are doing exactly zero to make things better - they deserve all the criticism they get.

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