What difference does it make if the threat is actual violence or leaving you without an income so you end up on the street? What matters is not the particulars of the unpleasantness that awaits you if you don't accept the mafia's/corporation's offer, but the fact that the unpleasantness is a consequence of a situation that the mafia/corporation have themselves created.

> ... the unpleasantness is a consequence of a situation that the mafia/corporation have themselves created.

I don't understand how the corporation can be guilty. If someone offers you a job with a wage that you find modest, how is it his fault if nobody else is making you a better offer?

There are a lot of things that companies do to make sure no one makes you a better offer. Here is just one recent example from the tech industry:

http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/23/4-tech-companies-are-payin...

It's foolish, but that's not even the biggest reason.

It's foolish because he wants to replace one corrupt group of people that take your money and distribute it (the Mafia) with another corrupt group of people that take your money and distribute it (the government).