Fraud!

Is it true that businesses exist, by definition, to make as much money as they possibly can? People seem to think so.

But was it always true? Did people always believe this?

Businesses exist to make money, sure -- among other things. But plenty of businesses -- either because of the people who ran them or the nature of their products and services -- have existed to make money, but not solely for that purpose.

And certainly, not to make ALL the money.

Yes, plenty of businesses,have been maximally rapacious, but capitalism does not REQUIRE them to take all the cash. So, health insurers have only themselves if to blame their bottom lines are hurt by congressional reform. Their mission was not just to make money but to provide a critical service in exchange for this reward. Still, they wanted to make ALL the money, even if that meant condemning paying customers to illness and death.

These companies are not exonerated by the fact that they're in business and that this is what businesses do. Because their business is insuring that their customers get health care. And in not always doing so, they are guilty of fraud.

A health insurance company that drops customers who become ill is the equivalent of a furniture company that refuses to deliver your already-purchased couch because it would be bad for its bottom line. So what if the companies make less money than they have in the past? If they make enough money to stay in business and fulfill their mandate, they are a success!

If they make even more money but do not fulfill their mandate, they are a failure.

Why have we lost sight of this truth?