Also, as swombat observed: the criteria for maximising shareholder returns long-term might be (and almost certainly is) very different to the short-term milking

Also, as swombat observed: the criteria for maximising shareholder returns long-term might be (and almost certainly is) very different to the short-term milking of the company for profit. Intuitively, a law requiring that company decisions favour maximum profit over N years would be ambiguous to the point of unenforceable.