April 9, 2001. Print-Friendly Version Taking Care of Business Robert B. Reich T here's no longer any countervailing power in Washington.
Business is in complete control of the machinery of government.
If corporate America understood its long-term interest, it would use this unique moment to establish in the public's mind the principle that business can be trusted. But it's doing just the opposite. Every industry and every major company is cashing in as fast as it can while the good times last. The danger for business is profound. Credit-card companies are getting a bankruptcy bill that will make it harder for overstretched people who succumb to the companies' blandishments ever to get out from under their debts.