Why is there a persistent assumption that a politician accountable to voters is under less pressure than a corporate director accountable to shareholders? Both are elected periodically, and both must use their terms in office to do, or attempt to do, things desired of them by the people who elected them.
And, to be perfectly honest, I think you'll find that self-serving behavior, corruption and malfeasance are just as common in corporations as in politics.
Maybe, but it's probably easier to lead a shareholder revolt against a corporate board of directors and/or CEO than to oust an entrenched Congressperson/Senator. Re-election is 98% guaranteed once you're in office (I pulled the number out of my ass, but I know that the number is high; i.e. somewhere between 90%-100%).
I decided to fact-check you, and according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_stagnation_in_the... , "In recent years this [incumbent reelection rate] rate has been well over 90 per cent, with rarely more than 5-10 incumbents losing their House seats every election cycle."
Because corporations are immortal. Their stock price is based on the net present value of all future profits they earn, which is why a company can suppress short-term profits and still have their stock price go up (by, e.g., investing extra in R&D).
Politicians are mortal, but, worse than that, their political "assets" can be taken away if they don't have high enough approval.
Basically, politicians have an artificially high discount rate; they put a huge premium on certain benefit now over possible benefit later, because they won't be around for the "later".
Corporations have the lowest possible discount rate, because the people who end up owning them (i.e. those who value the stock the most) are the people with the lowest discount rate at that point in time.
Why is there a persistent assumption that a politician accountable to voters is under less pressure than a corporate director accountable to shareholders?
Because when things go bad, corporate officials get fired a lot more often than incumbent politicians lose elections.
And, to be perfectly honest, I think you'll find that self-serving behavior, corruption and malfeasance are just as common in corporations as in politics.