I used to consider anything that seemed financially fishy a scam. But I’ve realized my blanket statement needs a bit of nuance.
Price gouging drinks at a music festival is a scam. Scalpers charging more for collector’s cards is a scam. Forcing lactose-intolerant customers to pay 30% extra for an oat milk latte is a scam.
But privatized healthcare—a business model that convinces the public to buy expensive coverage yet refuses to pay for claims, even to the point of death is, something different.
Manipulating veterans to fight a war then refusing to provide necessary care once all the munitions are fired is, something different.
Forcing tax payers to financially support Social Security and emptying the coffers by the time they can apply for benefits is, something different.
The something different is found in scale and scope, and can only be labeled as a scheme.
A scam takes advantage of dubious conditions. A scheme creates dubious conditions and attempts to sell you the solution or simply forces you to pay the bill. A scam is limited and opportunistic. A scheme aspires to be an inescapable status quo.
With this in mind, we should, whenever possible, refuse to scam each other. We’re all subject to webbed, seemingly indestructible and devastatingly horrendous system-backed-schemes and if we don’t choose to lookout for each one another, then who the hell will?