The first thing you should do, if you haven't already, is listen to the Bill Frezza interview. You will hear in no-nonsense terms what we realistically should - and should not - expect from business. Which should also change the debate about what we should - and should not - expect from government.
The second thing you should do is reward NPR for running this, when it's the kind of clear unvarnished speech you will seldom if ever find on the commercial media. Throw some love at your local public radio stations, and contact your congress critters to tell them no way in Hell should NPR, PBS or the Corporation for Public Broadcasting end up on the chopping block.
A few more things to consider. None of this discussion would be taking place in quite the same way if Occupy Wall Street hadn't happened. FOX NEWS would still be setting the talking points unchallenged. I suspect Lynn Neary went looking for something to 'Fair & Ballast' the Occupy Wall Street story, and bit off more than she expected.
Update 2: Here's a takeaway quote from the transcript:
NEARY: But is that good for the country? Is that good for business even?
FREZZA: You know, each business is run for the benefit of its owners, its shareholders, its customers, and its employees. It's not run for the benefit of the country. That's not why people run businesses.
emphasis added
Remember that when they tell you that you must be prepared to sacrifice your income, your healthcare, your retirement, that you must be prepared to make do with schools short of teachers, empty firehouses, crumbling roads... The business of America is business. It's not about you. They're the ones suffering, they're the whipping boys, they're the ones bearing the burden of regulations. And if you want to know why they really need that money if it's not to create jobs, take a look here and here.
Some Takeaway Points
For a historical perspective on what happens to societies that become fixated on some extreme vision to the exclusion of the bigger picture, I recommend Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. For something to explain it to the Children - and people who find it all too confusing, I recommend The Lorax, one of the most subversive books Dr. Seuss ever put out. It's not just about the environment any more.
And if you're looking for hard facts and documentation why the world view of Bill Frezza is so self destructive, if you want something solid on which to base policy that works, you really need to read The Spirit Level - Why Equality is Better for Everyone.
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