The New York Times Business page reports:
“Health Insurers Making Record Profits”
Well I hope so.
Record profits lead to record jobs. Record profits means a greater positive contribution to a growing economy than ever before. Record profits support growth in dividends, the staple of retired people depending on the fruits of their personal life savings in their end years. Record profits increase the value of a company and its shares of public ownership. When those shares go up in price it increases the value of pension plans and retirement funds. The more companies there are reporting record profits, the more companies there will be paying record taxes. Record profits are a good thing.
What happens when there are no record profits? By definition, a company that’s not reporting record profits is not doing as well as it once did. The enterprise has fallen into a state of decline. Its contribution to the national GDP is less than it was. The general definition of a recession is three quarters of negative GDP. Companies reporting lower levels of profit tend to be a drag on GDP until profits start to grow again. When companies are in a slump they postpone expansion and temper hiring programs even when the decline is judged to be a temporary state. Lower profits are not a good thing.
Somehow I suspect the Times doesn’t see it that way.
Bob B
RANDOM THOTS 