Theory versus reality. Of course that is how deci

Theory versus reality. Of course that is how decisions ought to be made but rarely how they are made. Theoretical models of human behavior are fundamentally misleading and that is one reason economists are so often wrong. Can our highways be built to last much longer? Of course they can, but they are designed to crumble with regularity. State and federal highway engineers are part of a system that depends on continuing work and job creation in the road repair and construction industry. How do Big Pharma and the medical supplies industries keep hospitals and doctors buying their products? By wining and dining and providing all expense paid trips to exotic places so the "right" people know on which side their "bread is buttered". And don't get me talking about the oil industry, the internal combustion engine, auto manufacturers and dealers versus why important alternative energy technologies have had such a difficult time making headway. Next we can discuss the "unholy triangle" between the defense industry, the Department of Defense and Congress. So please do not prattle on about theoretical behavior of business decision makers when the reality of self-interest, lethargy, existing systems with strong supporters and lobbyists are what are really in play. I remember talking to a guy from 3M in charge of their vaunted Pollution Prevention Pays (PPP) program that the company touted to all who would listen. And the fact is that it does pay. His lament is that he could not get most of the departmental decision makers to change the ways they made decisions and did business even though he could show them it was to their advantage. That is the reality of a great deal of business decision making.