Given the way Google implemented gathering street view data, I wouldn't be surprised if Google has more map data in the USA than all the other map companies combined.
Street View is great for finding faults in existing data but the fact is that it is the same old mapping/directory companies that do most of the work.
In that case, wouldn't it be mentioned in the copyright at the bottom right corner of maps.google.com when looking at US maps? I only see "Map Data (c) 2012 Google".
The Atlantic article mentions that they started with the TIGER data, not something from a mapping company.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/how-go...
Business listing comes from "information from our web search results, data submitted directly by local business owners, and third-party sources such as publicly available Yellow Pages directories" https://support.google.com/maps/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answ...
It's hilarious how quick you can accuse someone without even having some sources to back it up.