Lex Luthor has ten new members to invite to the next Legion of Doom meeting.
During the past week, CNNMoney.com compiled a “Most Hateable Companies (not named BP)” list because it didn’t want the BP oil spill to “completely overshadow all the other corporate miscreants out there whose behavior is also worthy of your contempt.”
The list included the usual lineup of liberal media corporate villains: Wal Mart at number nine for “low prices, killing off mom-and-pop stores and worker grievances,” Facebook at number six for “the company's lack of understanding of the public's privacy concerns,” and Goldman Sachs at —surprise, surprise — number one for having the nerve to “once again raking in huge profits.”
While Sachs is probably worthy of the number one spot, a few surprising companies made the list, including government sponsored entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at number 8. However, CNN noted “the White House and Congress are so afraid of upsetting this fragile political ecosystem that they haven't even begun the process of fixing the mess.”
On the contrary, the White House and the Democratic-controlled Congress are too closely linked to the GSEs to do anything about it. Republicans, on the other hand, have attempted to fix this mess but the media failed to report it. The inclusion of the two GSE’s is even more surprising given the lack of media coverage compared to Goldman Sachs.
Another surprising company was Cablevision, Comast, and Time Warner Cable at number seven for “maintaining a virtual monopoly” over cable. While cable providers are almost universally hated, this entry is surprising because CNN is owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a Time Warner Company.
The list, which will probably make it onto many liberals’ dartboards, may be lighthearted and intended to entertain rather than inform, but it’s yet another anti-business story from the media.
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