The weight of expectation and a convenient scapegoat....

In times of crisis, you can just feel the tingling in the opportunists of the world. Finding a vent for unpopular decisions is critical to Corporate/Political PR and ensures that they don't get personally bitten.

If you want to scale back philanthropic and community activities, layoff staff or shift resources and - at the same time - justify a weakened balance sheet to shareholders, what better way to do it than find a scapegoat?

That way it's EXCLUSIVELY 'their fault' that you don't do x or y and not your own ineptitude or lack of risk management. The disappointment of anyone who might otherwise benefit is conveniently transferred to another protagonist and the corporation dances away to the next cocktail party with another bonus in the back pocket.

Corporations are not so bound by community support and can easily blackmail their way out of corners whereas political systems are much more fragile on such a short electoral cycle. This is exploited continuously - especially in Western Australia - to maintain the status quo environmentally and socially.

Thus ANY price on pollution will mean you need to sell your first born and any social benefits from a resources tax means that you'll need to hand over the kidney.