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Comedian Allan Ray told a “joke.” He said, “Allstate recently sued 45 doctors, alleging fraud. The physicians are accused of stealing funds and neglecting patient needs. The official charge is impersonating an insurance company.”
Summed neatly into a one paragraph package, therein lies our problem. Joe Q. Public and Jane Q. Public believe that insurance companies, by and large, are all crooks.
And while Joe will smile at the cashier, who gives him change for a $20 when he’s only tendered a $10, and tell her, “Oops, you gave me $14.87 instead of $4.87. Here, take the $10 back” – and Jane will chase the paperboy down the street to give him back the five-dollar bill he inadvertently dropped on her front porch – both Mr. and Mrs. Public have no problem with loaning their AAA road service card to a friend whose car won’t start, passing a homeowners claim or worse.
The bottom line states that it’s perfectly okay to steal … from a crook. So if the victim is a crook, the act of thievery against that victim is not a sin. And we’re not in this battle alone.
If Joe gets an extra bonus from an ATM, he’ll shove it in his pocket. Of course, banks are crooks. If Jane’s credit card payment is applied twice, she’ll keep her mouth shut and hope Visa doesn’t discover the error. Of course, credit card companies are crooks. If Uncle Sam makes an error (or doesn’t catch one that Joe made), all’s the better. Of course, we all know that he’s a crook.
And the list goes on. Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer.
I can only raise the question.
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