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Comment by ericingram | Hacker News Reader

Governments create and enforce laws, so they must be held accountable for them. If the government didn't have such discretionary power, lobbying would not be a thing at all.

I don't blame the big cable companies for doing it, since they'd be at a competitive disadvantage otherwise.

Remember that humans operate companies and governments alike. Except governments use force and companies are subject to it.

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It astounds me how people will happily let companies off the hook for causing negative externalities, while simultaneously blaming the government for failing to regulate them effectively and decrying the regulation in the first place.

"Remember that humans operate companies and governments alike. Except governments use force and companies are subject to it."

What utter drivel.

He who wields the weapon is responsible for the results. Government wields the power of coercion, thus the results of coercion is their responsibility - and the shared responsibility of those that consent to such government. Yes, the lobbyists who abuse the coercive power of government share the blame - but so do you, if you support the existence of this coercive power and their ability to abuse it. If somebody tricks you into shooting yourself in the foot by claiming your foot is a space alien intending to eat you - he is to blame for tricking you, and you are to blame for being an idiot. You can say we should get the world rid of the people who are willing to trick idiots for their own profit, but I say it may be much more practical to try and be idiots less frequently. Because the former is not very likely to happen anytime soon.

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