Let me point out that profits become the dividends that the stockholders demand. Stockholders include anyone (including me) who own mutual funds or who participate in pension plans, not just the fat cats who purchase shares for themselves.

Since the stockholders demand dividends, companies are going to do what they can to increase profits. Yes, the monies paid to some CEOs are obscene and yes, there is a lot of greed. But the greed comes from our demands as well as from those running the company.

In a sense, the US government is a mutual fund. You can purchase shares from the US Treasury (bonds, for instance). What I don't understand is why then those who hold treasury note and bonds don't demand a "profit" from the government. One area in which such a profit might be maintained would be the curtailment of certain overseas operations; another might be in the re-introduction of laissez-faire economics to the so-called "private sector."