Really dumb questions to follow. Sorry in advance.

Are older, more stable, blue-chip companies more insulated from the investor mentality that drives this type of behavior? I can't imagine a company as large and stable as GM or GE making rash, short term decisions to court investors because A) their size insulates them from market risks (auto bailout situations aside that is) and B) it's a lot more difficult to turn a massive company's direction than it is a smaller, more streamlined company.

Do shareholders argue about these things and does it affect the decisions a company makes? For example, if I were a shareholder for Ford I'd want them to think longterm instead of short term and I'd find fly by night investors pretty frustrating.

It seems like everyone keeps thinking short term and quick cash, from the conversations we've had and the things I've read on Hubski and the internet at large. You've alluded to gambling before and the other day francopoli said something similar in a short discussion about quantitive easing. If this behavior is so risky and everyone keeps saying so, what are companies and governments doing to try and discourage it?