This (conveniently) ignores (as do so many similar analyses) the opportunity costs of entering into a labor contract. When an enterprise fails, it is not just

This (conveniently) ignores (as do so many similar analyses) the opportunity costs of entering into a labor contract. When an enterprise fails, it is not just the stockholders and corporate officers who suffer. The employees do too. Worse, only the foolhardy investor puts more than they can afford to lose into a risky investment, meaning that while they have undoubtedly lost money from the failure, they are almost certainly still "whole" in terms of their ability to meet their basic needs. By contrast, the employees, who may have lost no capital, often face much more dire circumstances in the aftermath of a venture failing. >even a political process that isn’t being corrupted or gamed by someone powerful is badly incentivized to throw good money after bad It isn't clear to me what you mean by this.