[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Nan remains the most powerful lady in the USA, and the man who left a live woman to die remained a senator for decades, up until his death. That's the very definition of being safe from accountability. And there are many more examples, on all sides of the political map.

Definitely. I am also thinking of "accountability" in a somewhat different way as well. I'll call it "accountability to the consumer". For example, if I get a weird letter from a government agency, there is a way for me to find out, via laws and public information, what is going on and why. If my cable internet stops working, I call and get to speak to "John" in New Delhi whose expertise is limited to suggesting that I plug and unplug something. The company is not obligated to tell me anything, or even help.

To circle back to the "regulation" issues, these companies have effective monopolies in some places and competition is stifled by issues of infrastructure ownership and rights. In many European countries, regulations have helped give consumers more, cheaper and better options for high speed internet.

Originally Posted by Mark17

I understand why airlines overbook flights - to cover themselves against cancellations. I've long thoght the simple solution would be to offer guaranteed seating. A customer pays for his ticket, understanding it is non-refundable. The airline is guaranteed that seat is sold and the customer is guaranteed that seat is his. People who want to have the option of cancelling if they must can reserve tickets the usual way, understanding it's a two-way street: they can cancel on the airline, and the airline can bump them.

I agree that would be a solution, but for them, why do that when they can overbook (including non-refundable, non-guaranteed tickets) and double dip?