In the old days companies sold stock to raise capital to do things that were productive and would hopefully return the capital and more back to the shareholders

In the old days companies sold stock to raise capital to do things that were productive and would hopefully return the capital and more back to the shareholders. Companies with a lot of growth potential would sell stock over and over again as they needed more money to grow. Imagine the time (not that very long ago) when private investors would not invest billions in companies before an IPO. Giving money to a great company that is cash strapped is a win-win, not zero sum. Tesla is the only company right now that I can think of that does this. Amazon is close with its zero profit philosophy. The tax code in America messed with this dynamic with taxing stock buy backs(capital gains) less than dividends (income). Giving large chunks of stock options to the company execs also didn't help.