Why do leftists insist that businesses can't "self-regulate," but teachers can?

[memphis]

Teachers shoud have total control? No principals, no school boards, no state mandated curriculum? What leftist is saying that? You want business to be like schools and both should have regulators who are able to fire? You want members of the SEC to fire the heads of banks? I'm being tongue in cheek obviously, but a little reality and consistancy on your part would be nice.

[memphis]

There is a point somewhere in there, that left-wingers have a strange way of assuming that corporations are rational wealth-maximizers that will abuse the system as much as they can, whereas individuals will not, so that taxes and transfers will have no adverse effect on behaviour. And before someone cries hyperbole, yes, I've seen plenty of left-wingers claim the latter.

Corporations have the luxury of being much more rational, and thus able to game a system, than individual people. Individuals have a lot less time and money to game a system and are much more greatly impacted by social pressures not to screw their peers. Taxes are one factor that can have an effect on behavior. Right wingers like to act like it's the only one.