It's often easier to agree on the faults, as compared with the remedies to a flawed market process. Basel Capital, Dodd Frank, and Proxy Access are all well-known examples of polarizing remedies to problems in the news.

In each case, the media raised the initial alarms and the public responded. Politicians and regulators hammered out reforms. Market participants lined up on either side. Yet consensus has been elusive, even at the corporate level. When a public company is seen to be lacking, shareholders work through their boards. Directors are elected to oversee management’s efforts to right the ship. Reforms often take years before effecting change.