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I wasn't comparing the power a corporation has to the power wielded by the government; It was more corporation vs person.

I don't think I'd have the power to tell the US Coast Guard to fuck off if they approached me as I sped across the harbour in my little speedboat.

False dichotomy. Both of them can have too much power simultaneously! :)

If both corporations and the government act outside or above the law, then they both have too much power, right? (Note that I don't actually believe Google has violated any laws here - just commenting on the perception).

I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. In particular that government and corporations are working together at high level, while maintaining opposing stance in public.

When you're a huge corp like Google that operates around the globe, you can't help but to rub elbows with the government - collaborate and make concessions, if necessary (e.g. PRISM).

The sad part is that the lack of privacy is advantageous to both government and corporations. One get better ad targeting, another tracking and control. So they're one team on this. The dispute is who and how will get to use the data.