@reed Just to be perfectly clear, nowhere in my post did I use the adjective evil or the term evil corporations. Only you did that.
There is a large continuum between benevolence and evil. Corporations, for the most part, are founded primarily to make a profit. They frequently do not do things willingly that cut into that profit. That can include things like charitable contributions, environmental stewardship, employee welfare, and even safety of products. It depends on the people that are running the corporations, and whether they take the long view on business such as that quality products are good business, and happy employees are productive employees that are a large part of the bottom line.
It is simply my contention that for some aspects of corporate business such as consumer protection, environmental protection, and honest operation of accounting and stock, independent oversight through the government is beneficial. Should that oversight be carefully monitored and routinely overhauled to make sure it does not add unnecessarily to the paperwork, reporting and compliance burden of the businesses? Yes.
Finally, I do not owe corporations in any way for my “way of life.” Any products they have created that I use in my life, I have compensated them for by handing over my hard-earned money, making us even. Further, many of their products and services come from innovations from pure research conducted either by the government or universities. If not, say a drug, you can bet your bottom dollar I am already paying for that research along with other buyers!