Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"As an engineer, I cringe when businessfolk crow about profits. To me, money left over is an inefficiency. It means something else got shorted; either the quality of the product or service, the standard of living of the people who produced it, or the customers who bought it, or some combination, for the benefit of the people who financed it. We don't have usury laws on profit margins (mostly), just a vague cultural "ok, that's too much" moral outrage that eventually kicks in, usually without result.

"What's needed is a sustainable healthy balance; instead of financial pilfering, instead aiming for a quality product or service, made by as many well paid workers as a company can support, providing a modest return to investors, at the most competitive price in its market. Is that really so much to ask for? The measure of success shouldn't be profit, it should be the highest possible averaged standard of living of everyone involved."

-- marmota, 2011-03-31