Because corporations are immortal. Their stock price is based on the net present value of all future profits they earn, which is why a company can suppress short-term profits and still have their stock price go up (by, e.g., investing extra in R&#38;D).<p>Politicians are mortal, but, worse than that, their political "assets" can be taken away if they don't have high enough approval.<p>Basically, politicians have an artificially high discount rate; they put a huge premium on certain benefit now over possible benefit later, because they won't be around for the "later".<p>Corporations have the lowest possible discount rate, because the people who end up owning them (i.e. those who value the stock the most) are the people with the lowest discount rate at that point in time.