Good post.
There's two interesting points:
The first is the integration of corporations into the government. You're absolutely spot on when talking about corporations gaining a larger say in governmental circles, and that is having profound policy and fiscal effects in the system. Because most of the systems of government are not well known to the public at large (example: how are regulations crafted and why are they necessary), and the public doesn't understand why certain bureaus or agencies even exist, much less their mission, their actions, and their impacts.
Corporations have figured out that the government helps them in a variety of ways. Erecting barriers to entry of market (stopping competitors), corporate welfare (government contracts, tax breaks, subsidies), mutual support (the iron triangle model), and a convenient scape goat are all ways that corporations can use the government to enhance their profitability.
I don't think that we'll arrive at the point where we'll wake up one day and find out that the US Government is actually run by
Weyland-Yutani. I think that corporations will become more involved to the point that certain corporations will be indistinguishable from the US (and other) governments. This will be done in the name of "efficiency".
An example is the current political proposal to cut the federal workforce by 10% - this will not actually reduce the amount of workers on the primary and secondary payrolls. What you will see is a reduction of the primary payroll by 10%, and secondary payrolls (contractors) will increase by 10%+. So, it's not a cost savings measure because numerous studies have shown that the private sector is not necessarily more efficient than the public sector in inherently governmental duties; this is a further privatization of government proposal.
The second point is the collapse of multi-nationals. Personally, I think that such a collapse is inevitable, but a few will survive.
Recall Lehman Brothers - they were the victim of a vicious rumor stating that they were undercapatilized and on the verge of collapse, while simultaneously being subject to an illegal naked shorting scheme to drive down shareholder value. This was done by other banks to 1) Reduce competition; 2) Allow the other banks to buy defunct Lehman assets at pennies on the dollar.
If I was the CEO of a large corporation, I would be working very hard to sever all financial connections and increase currency reserves (recall that banks are not lending money). Once I was comfortable where my company was at, I would start doing everything I could to undermine and collapse the financial system. As everything goes to hell in a handbasket, I could sit back and watch my company emerge from the crisis relatively unscathed. Then, I could buy trillions of dollars of assets for a fraction of what they are worth. The Fed and Government would support me, because I'd be one of the few left standing.
My company would come out as one of the most powerful and richest corporations in the history of man. I may even be hailed as a hero - the man who saved the world's economy (JP Morgan - 1907). And I would be more wealthy and powerful than any politician alive or dead.
If I fail, I cost my company a few quarters of profit. Big deal. Maybe I get fired and get a golden parachute of $300 million. Watch me cry.
Sorry for the long post. Just the way I see it.