Resentine's examples are spot on and are the very basis of a Capitalist economy. Even Karl Marx, "father" of Communism, accurately understood these principals and spoke about them, in great and detailed length, in his massive multi-volumed tome "Das Kapital".

Keep in mind Marx started publishing his theories on Capitalism in 1867, that's nearly 150 years ago and it's still just as applicable. Turns out the nature of how to make a profit in a Capitalism market really hasn't changed much since the industrial revolution. His work is so comprehensive and so relevant, even today, that major corporations include it as a "must read" for their upcoming executives.

Given that the basic ideas of how Capitalism works has existed for centuries now, with proven mathematical formulas to boot, it's absolutely ridiculous when these large corporation say "Ooooh, we don't know how to do that!" Trust me, they do, they know very, very well how to make it work. The problem is that it cuts into their (in some cases quite massive) profits and they are absolutely unwilling to part with their precious money even for the universal benefit of the country they pretend to be loyal to.