Posted by Jonathan Adler:
"Profit" Is Not a Dirty Word:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_07_26-2009_08_01.shtml#1248992720
Yale law professor [1]Stephen Carter writes in defense of corporate
profits.
High profits are excellent news. When corporate earnings reach
record levels, we should be celebrating. The only way a firm can
make money is to sell people what they want at a price they are
willing to pay. If a firm makes lots of money, lots of people are
getting what they want.
To the country, profit is a benefit. Record profit means record
taxes paid. But put that aside. When profits are high, firms are
able to reinvest, expand and hire. And profits accrue to the
benefit of those who own stocks: overwhelmingly, pension funds and
mutual funds. In other words, high corporate profits today signal
better retirements tomorrow.
Another reason to celebrate profit is the incentive it creates.
When profits can be made, entrepreneurs provide more of needed
goods and services. . . .
When political anger over profit reduces the willingness of
investors to take risks, the nation suffers. . . .
And although it is easy to be dismayed by excess, trying to
regulate profit makes things worse. Capital flows to places where
returns are highest. The more exercised our political leaders
become when profits rise, the more investment capital will remain
abroad.
References
1.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/29/AR2009072902626.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
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