I can think of no better way of demonstrating the current state of economic affairs between large, heavily-regulated corporations and government than the following strip:
Always keep in mind that all collective groups are composed of selfish individuals and not benevolent entities. This applies to large corporations and the even larger governments (by fiscal measures alone, the United States Federal government is the largest corporate empire).
Never assume that just because a government has people with good intentions at the top that they will be inherently good. And never assume that because a private company cannot simply take your money by force that they are good as well.
Generally, this rule applies to individuals as well. Very few people can be expected to care about the well-being of others, even those with whom they are close.
So from the stockholders to the workers to the government regulators to the politicians to the CEOs to, ultimately, the consumer we are all looking out for our own well-being first. The comic strip demonstrates that at all sectors, there are always selfish people looking to maximize their well-being in spite of everyone else.
There is no solution to selfishness in man really. The best thing that can be done is somehow ensure that the consequences of their selfishness are met in kind. And one of the best ways to do that is for the government to stop welfare and regulations in all sectors and to make it unthinkable for any corporate entity to ask for any favors from the government.
Speaking of lemonade stands, this past Saturday was Lemonade Freedom Day and apparently there were NYC cops who wanted their cut:
Three sourpuss Parks Department agents put the squeeze on a 10-year-old girl in Riverside Park yesterday, slapping the tyke with a $50 ticket for hawking lemonade without a permit.
Clementine Lee, who lives just blocks from the Upper West Side park, had dreamed of opening a lemonade stand since last year and took advantage of yesterday's beautiful weather to set up shop.
"It was such a hot day I figured people would want a cold drink," the aspiring juvenile juice mogul told The Post.
Business was booming for Clementine and her photographer dad, Richard, 49, for the first 20 minutes at the stand on West 73rd Street and Riverside Drive.
The father-daughter team was able to sell 10 glasses of the ice-cold drink for 50 cents each and the dozen chocolate chip cookies they baked.
Because we all know that all roadside lemonade and cookie stands were set up by chain-smoking, alcoholic, sociopaths who put arsenic in the lemonade and drain cleaner in the cookies.