Legitimate Business

Throughout history mankind has based his wealth on plunder.  When all gains were made by the sweat of the brow, it was impossible for people to become wealthy by their own efforts.  Wealth required taking the labors of others.  Thus, kings and walled cities protected the people from invasion and plunder by their neighbors.  Governments were instituted to protect people from fraud and theft, allowing ownership without fear of being plundered.  However, the governments themselves give in to the need for money and easily become part of the problem.  Caveat Emptor was never so relevant as it is today, unfortunately.

Today, we have business as a form of legal plunder.  These government-approved businesses "sell" people things that they don't need in order to get money.  Marketing techniques are mastered and used to motivate more people to buy goods and services that may even bring harm.  The government today is beginning to mandate that we buy useless goods and services such as insurance, chemotherapy, and vaccines.  All too often they don't give real value in exchange for money.  In this sense, a great deal of business and government in the world is fraud.

Info-tainment
Information is so cheap that we place little value on it.  We think we can watch TV for free and get information.  As Wormwood in the movie Matilda, said, "There's nothing you can get from a book that you can't get from a television faster."  But is TV free?  We must spend the most valuable asset we have in order to watch television -- time.  Besides, everything that is on TV is a message paid by sponsors.  Even the news is of questionable benefit, at best, offering people what they want to hear without giving any real information.

Most books are filled with things people like, but don't offer information of any value for the money.  Information is sold rampantly in books, or on the internet, promising health, wealth, and happiness in every way possible, taking money and offering only lies.  People pay for what they want to hear, not necessarily what they need.  Thus, they spend their money and get nothing in return.

Sometimes, a college education is useless.  We are told that the majority of what we learn in college is not true, that we need to go out into the world and begin to learn reality.  People spend hundreds of thousands on an education to get a degree, and find only a worthless piece of paper and an empty head.  In medical schools across the country, our future doctors are being taught that drugs help people to get well, when the research says otherwise.  They are told they are getting a first-rate education, but really only learn to be an agent of drug companies.  On the bottom-line, it's fraud.

Drugs
People spend large amounts of money on all sorts of drugs to feel good for a few minutes, and only receive harm.  While it may be obvious that meth, heroin, marijuana, and cocaine are a problem, alcohol and caffeine have been the drugs of choice for millennia, and those who sell it are perpetrating fraud on those who buy it, even though they do it willingly.  Like prostitution, street drugs or prescription drugs that only bring temporary relief of symptoms, and cause harm are not of any benefit.  They take money, but don't offer value in return.

The patent drug business is, on the whole, based on fraud, giving harm instead of value.  More than 99% of drugs are sold to people who don't need them, or who won't benefit from them, and might even be harmed by them.  Money is exchanged for nothing of value as health is damaged by the toxic medications.  It's worse than just stealing, where nothing is offered in exchange for money, it is actually giving ill for good.

The greatest marketing fraud perpetrated on the people of the world is found in the patent medicine industry.  Since people don't generally want to take toxic medications, the drug companies have spent billions of dollars to create a perceived need.  Using fear tactics to address health concerns, they advertise that drugs are the solution to a problem that they created.  In most cases, there is no problem at all.  Hypertension is a symptom that was made into an illness through marketing.  We were told it is "The silent killer!" and in order to avoid death, we needed to take a drug to lower the pressure.  The research shows this isn't true, but even the doctors remain ignorant of this fact because they are trained by the drug companies.  People spend billions of dollars every year on these toxic medications that do more harm than good -- for an illness that doesn't exist!

Cholesterol is another creation of marketing drugs.  We are told that high cholesterol causes heart disease and strokes, and that we can avoid these if we use drugs to lower cholesterol.  The doctors are sales agents of the drug companies, doggedly telling everyone to take their statin drugs, or else!  I had one patient with heart disease who was given a stent for a narrowed artery in his heart, and put on a statin drug.  Two years later he had to get another stent for another narrowed artery, causing chest pain, and given a higher dose of statin drugs.  A year later he was given another stent for further arterial disease in his heart, and more chest pain, and was changed to a stronger statin drug.  This continued until he had five stents and very high doses of statin drugs.  He came in to see me because of terrible side-effects (toxicity) of the statin drugs.  It was obvious he had inflammatory issues so I took him off the statin drugs in order to treat the cause of his problem.  His cardiologist called me, and literally yelled into the phone that it was "malpractice" to take a person with heart disease off of statin drugs, even after they have failed four times!

Fake Food
Like drugs, most food that is bought does more harm than good to the body.  All those who sell junk food are stealing money from people, taking their money and offering nothing of value in return.  In reality, for their money they only get illness and death.  This is not to mean only "fast food" or "junk food" but all processed foods, drinks, restaurants, or packaged foods that are eaten for taste, but don't nourish the body.  These foods are the greatest cause of disability and death in the world.  Those in the business are perpetrating a fraud on unsuspecting innocent people, just like the drug industry.  In fact, the most toxic substance known to man is sugar, the basic staple of most food sold.  More people die from sugar toxicity than all of the drugs combined, illegal or legal.  Those who sell it are doing more harm than good, taking money, but giving no value.

Marketing
Marketing is the art of legal plunder -- getting people to part with their money, taking something of value and giving nothing in return.  In some cases, it's giving people what they want, instead of what they need.  In other cases it's creating a perceived need where there really isn't one.  We could go down the list of drugs that are fraud, but the picture is clear.  People are sold a bill of goods, getting no value for their money.  The patent drug industry is mostly fraud with brilliant marketing to trick people into thinking they are getting value for their money.  Nobody notices that people are still getting the illnesses that the drugs are supposed to be preventing.  Likewise the food industry is mostly fraud.  In fact, just about everything we see advertised is selling something of little or no value for high prices.  This is the art of marketing.  Marketing is all about motivating people to spend money on what they want, but all too often it is a bait-and-switch game of getting them to spend their money, but not actually giving them what they want, or what was promised.  These businesses prey on the weak, lonely, needy and ignorant people of the world.

More than two millennia ago, Jacob is talking to us when he says, "Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy."  (2 Nephi 9:51)

Win-Lose
Plunder just as readily happens the other way, when people take advantage of businesses, looking for a win-lose deal.  Those who are looking for a bargain, to pay less for something than everyone else, are often trying to receive goods and services at the expense of others.  A perfect example is found in the "gaming" industry (AKA gambling).  Near my house is an Indian casino where so many people go to get something for nothing.  They hope to provide the smallest "investment" to get the largest gains for themselves, while everyone else in the house loses (except the House, of course).  These are all forms of plunder, taking something and not giving value in return.  There is no exchange, and is always a win-lose situation.

Legit 
A legitimate business provides value for the money they receive.  They will often give more than what they receive, a lot more.  A legitimate business sells goods and services that improve people.  There are thousands of businesses that give a real exchange of value.  Real estate is based on the desirability of the property.  Cars add value to people's lives.  The business of connecting people through communication like phones and the internet is a real service.  Those businesses that supply energy such as gas and electricity are valuable.  Most stores that sell goods are giving value for the money.  Restaurants and stores that sell nutritious foods also give value.

Legitimate businesses don't need to use marketing to create fear or false need.  People come to them with a real need, and the business fills the need.  There is a real exchange of value that benefits both parties.  One of the most important principles of business was elucidated by Stephen R. Covey in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, that is the principle of "Think Win-Win -- or no deal!"  If either party was aware that the other is losing on the deal, they would call it off.  Every exchange must benefit both parties, and neither would go through with a deal that would harm the other party.  We are our brother's keeper, and we have an obligation to look out for everyone, especially those who are needy or ignorant.  A legitimate business must offer value in exchange, and not consider taking money without offering at least an equivalent value in return.

Legitimate Marketing
Marketing for a legitimate business allows people to know that a service or product is available so those who need it can have access to it.  The business provides good, quality, useful goods and services at a price that provides a fair exchange so there is no need to use tricks or manipulation to get people to spend money on products or services that will not benefit them.  There is, instead, a fair exchange of value.

Many stores offer a return policy for defective merchandise, or even for "buyer's remorse!"  The consumer can even reverse the deal after they take the goods home.  Of course, this sometimes leads to an unfair exchange, where the buyer uses the goods, and still asks for money back.

Some businesses negotiate with customers.  Negotiation is a way for us to determine the best exchange where both will gain.  Negotiation may lead to creative ways to provide the service or pay for goods that wouldn't otherwise have made the exchange possible, especially with large purchases, such as real estate.

My own legitimacy
I need to assess my own business continually to see that I provide a valuable service.  I need to be sure that I am giving real value for the money on an general and individual basis.  I would continually examine the value of the services I provide, and be sure others receive that value.  I could offer a guarantee policy, but that is difficult in a health care setting because people feel better and forget that they felt bad so the perceived value changes as the consumer gets more benefit.  Moreover, we cannot judge any form of prevention because we cannot know if an individual would have become disabled with arthritis, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, or some other chronic degenerative ailment.  If we teach them how, they just continue to be healthy.

For this reason, I believe the best health care is education.  Teaching people how to care for themselves on an individual and general basis allows them to be independent and healthy all their lives.  "Health is the first wealth," said Mahatma Gandhi.  Without health all of our wealth is worthless.  Health allows us to live.  Prevention of illness has more value than money.  The knowledge of how to avoid all of the worthless food, drugs, and other life-stealing products is priceless!  The savings will be many times more than the cost of the education.  This is all-around a tremendous value -- definitely a win-win for all!