People look at total profits and get confused.

It isn't necessarily confusion. Public utilities sell electricity basically at cost, and that reduces the cost of goods and services for the entire economy.

What people get confused about is that (to my knowledge) no public-run oil firm has managed to match the efficiency of private oil firms. Even heads of state seem to get confused (or prefer to be confused, to win popularity points).

People prefer to think that economics, finance, and business are some sort of right-wing conspiracy and so they don't bother to educate themselves on it.

Greed explains those sorts of conspiracy theories away.

It doesn't make it "right," however.

Most people also have yet to accept evolution and read Us Weekly more than US News.