Prices, Profits, and Fairness

Why is an oil or pharmaceutical company condemned for earning windfall profits when market conditions change, while an individual homeowner who realizes a tidy profit off of a hot real estate market is applauded? Popular movie stars, directors, and entertainment companies can earn above-normal profits without so much as a whisper of public protest. Premium ice creams and chocolates are very expensive and yield profit margins that would have made the “robber barons” of yesterday blush. Very few of us would continue working at 50 percent of our present salaries. Are we not charging what the market will bear? Why are individuals and corporations held to different standards? Perhaps it is not so much price that bothers people as it is profits. Join Ed and Ron for a discussion on Fairness and how it distorts our view on prices and profits.