I guess I?m happy to see that most of the funding for this week?s inauguration ceremonies is coming from private contributors, but I must say I hope that it is not coming from any of the corporations that my stock mutual funds are invested in. This is not because of the particular president being inaugurated but because I want the companies I?m invested in to use their profits to give me the highest return possible. As Milton Friedman pointed out 35 years ago, the social responsibility of corporations is to earn as high a return for their owners, i.e., shareholders, as possible. My investments have been made in order to send my daughter to college, provide for our retirement, and possibly to take a cruise or a nice trip to Italy one day. I have not put money into a host of different mutual funds in order to help fund anyone?s presidential inauguration. I want to decide where my money is going to go and what kinds of activities it is going to fund. This may include presidential inaugurations, but let the organizers come to me and ask. My solution is that money for inaugurations be raised with raffles, bake sales, bingo games, and telethons.