> The most common confusion I see is people conflating revenue with profits with assets. For example, they'll complain that a company worth $$$$ only pays $ in

> The most common confusion I see is people conflating revenue with profits with assets. For example, they'll complain that a company worth $$$$ only pays $ in income taxes I agree they get conflated or the articles pick the least favorable comparison. But it's not like this is absolutely broken --- the market values company X (allegedly unprofitable) at $10B but they pay effectively no tax --- could be a legitimate complaint. And people who are upset about things often will make arguments that, when calm, they might know are not strictly true or fair. Some might even argue that the value of government services they receive are proportional to their asset value, not their income. > The accounting class was taught by a guy who said he used to be the the salesman at a car dealership. We got to talking, and he said the biggest problem customers had was failing to understand the finance part of the deal. The wealth of the customer was directly related to his understanding of finance. You have no idea how much trouble I've had just getting dealerships to take a check, because they want to play these games. > Finally, the manager asked him what his new job was, and my dad relied "head of the finance department at the college." LOL.