Lately, more lawmakers—even some conservatives—are criticizing companies for “making too much profit.” That’s happening right now in the Louisiana Legislature and across the country. Some are advocating for new laws to penalize businesses through stringent rules, price caps, and taxes, particularly in the tech and insurance industries. The idea is that taking profit away will somehow make things better for everyday people.

But that thinking is backward. Profit isn’t the problem. Profit is part of the solution.

Here’s why.

In a free-market economy, businesses earn a profit when they provide goods or services that people want. That profit indicates that the company is utilizing its resources effectively, whether it’s selling food, insurance, phone service, or any other product or service. No one is forced to buy these things. When someone buys a product, it means they think it’s worth the price.

That’s Economics 101: voluntary exchange makes both the buyer and the seller better off.

And when a company fails to meet people’s needs? It loses money. That’s how the profit-and-loss system works. It rewards good ideas and punishes bad ones. That feedback loop helps businesses learn, improve, or step aside for someone else who can do better.

Profit is what allows businesses to grow, hire more workers, and reinvest in new tools, products, and services. Without it, there’s no incentive to take risks or innovate.

Yet too many lawmakers are focused on capping profits instead of solving real problems.

Take insurance. Rates are high in Louisiana—not because companies are raking in profit, but because the state has one of the worst legal climates in the country, coupled with a large number of uninsured motorists. Lawsuit abuse drives up costs, and regulatory mandates limit choices. Instead of fixing the system, some want to go after the insurers.

The same thing is happening in tech. Some want to break up large companies or impose new regulations on them. But these businesses have created thousands of jobs, made life easier through innovation, and opened up new markets for small businesses. Still, the policy response is to punish profits rather than address the root causes.

Government price controls sound like a quick fix, but they almost always backfire. Setting prices too low leads to shortages. Think about it: if insurance rates are capped below what it costs to cover risk, companies will stop offering coverage. If tech companies are fined or slapped with heavy-handed regulations for offering popular products, they’ll stop investing and innovating. That means fewer jobs, slower growth, and worse service.

It’s also important to understand that only people pay taxes. When the government taxes a business more, it doesn’t magically come from a corporate wallet. It comes from workers (in lower pay), consumers (in higher prices), or shareholders (which includes anyone with a retirement account). Blaming companies for not paying “enough” taxes ignores how the tax system actually works.

Many understandably desire fairness. However, true fairness means creating a system where anyone, regardless of their background, has an equal opportunity to succeed. This means encouraging competition, protecting property rights, and eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.

Everyone acts in their self-interest. That’s not a flaw—it’s a fact of life. People seek better jobs, more affordable prices, and improved lives. A free-market system takes that normal behavior and channels it into something good. You can only earn a profit by giving someone else something they value more. That’s cooperation, not exploitation.

Instead of punishing profit, we should fix what’s broken. That means tackling lawsuit abuse, improving education, empowering parents with tools and supports to help their children, and letting businesses compete on a level playing field. It means making sure the government doesn’t block innovation or create winners and losers through handouts and heavy-handed regulation.

Free-market capitalism isn’t perfect, but it’s the best system ever created to help people lift themselves. It lets people try, fail, learn, and succeed. It gives room for new ideas to grow. It allows individuals, not the government, to decide what’s worth doing.

If we want a stronger economy, more jobs, and better opportunities for everyone, we need more freedom in the market, not less. Profit is how people get ahead. Let’s stop treating it like a problem and start treating it like the pathway to prosperity.