Why did the telecom companies cooperate with Bush's warrantless wiretaps in the first place?

[Hippo_Tron]

This is the one part of the telecom immunity thing that I can't figure out. Everything I've learned in pretty much any econ class I've ever taken says that business HATE to reveal information about their clients. It's a huge liability and it may mean that they lose business. So why did they comply?

Were they coerced by Bush or did they just comply voluntarily?

[Kutjara]

1. Large corporations and the government share a common enemy:

the American people. It's natural they'd cooperate to keep an eye on us.

[Hippo_Tron]

2. That's certainly a plausible theory

But I'd like to see evidence.

[Kutjara]

5. Evidence that we're the enemy?

Just look at how corporations behave towards their employees, denying them decent wages, offshoring jobs, breaking unions, withholding health benefits, plundering pension funds, raping the environment. You name it.

As for the government, need I say more?

If, on the other hand, you're looking for specifics on the nature of the collusion in this instance, I think it'll be a long time before those documents are declassified. If they even exist any more. I'm sure the paper shredders have been working overtime at Telco HQs all over the country.

[Me.]

3. Money

They got paid

[Selatius]

4. It sounds like quid pro quo.

Bush did something for them in return for information on consumers. I don't know what that "something" is though.

[haele]

7. Lessee - special no-bid contracts, tax breaks -

subsidies, wink, wink practices with regulations for various government institutions such as DoL, the SEC and FCC,preferential treatment, tacit immunity, high profit fees for the work they do, fast-tracking for subsidiaries, etc, etc... Oh, and access. It's amazing what you can do if you have a friend in the government to help smooth things and perhaps give you a heads up on your competitors...

Just a wild guess.

Haele

[Hippo_Tron]

8. Good call, that seems like the most plausible explanation

[Snarkoleptic]

6. Because these fuckstains consider us prey rather than citizens.

[RufusTFirefly]

11. The heck with the outdated notion of citizens. We're consumers now.

That, above all, is what bugs me. I refuse to be defined by the products and services I do and don't buy.

[Webster Green]

9. We cancelled our AT&T account, and will NOT pay the bill..

We owe them close to $500. I told them they can kiss my ass because they were wiretapping our phone, and that wasn't part of the deal.

[RufusTFirefly]

10. Whoa! Good for you, Webster!!

Theoretically we should be able to "take our business elsewhere" but sadly, that's no longer the case. So much for the legendary "free market." With so many of the products and services we depend upon these days, we either have to surrender to the corporation's rules or simply do without. There is no other alternative.

[DBoon]

12. One didn't

they were subjected to intensive investigation and their CEO was convicted of wrongdoing

The rest fell into line and were duly rewarded

[Bitwit1234]

13. They were probably threatened with loosing their FCC license.