To be fair, Friedman's statement about profit was meant to apply to companies trying to maximize long-term profit. He specifically cautions against an emphasis on short-term profit. He also said that all businesses say they want a free market, when they really want a monopoly. Of course, the only way to prevent predatory capitalism is by legislation, but Friedman helped dismantle a lot of that and businesses and the wealthy have continued to dismantle it even more since his death. It is worth listening to his discussions with Russ Roberts on the Econ Talk podcasts. He was one of the first guests on the series.

The Flint Michigan water crisis was/is due to the city and state government, not businesses. THe city wanted to build a new water pipe from Lake Huron, but to do so they switched the water for flint to the Flint River. However, the city didn't treat the water (against federal law) to prevent the lead pipes from corroding. What followed was a huge cover up and game of pointing fingers. However, in the end this too probably has a lot to do with predatory capitalism, because states and cities now have little money due to all the big tax cuts to big business. Where I live, in Houston Tx, the city and schools are in bad financial shape, even though Houston is one of the largest cities in the country with a booming economy.