Adam Smith: Rhetorical Analysis

“Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.” Adam smith wrote this robust statement in his book The Wealth of Nations in 1776 (para. 203). Adam Smith was a brilliant Scottish social philosopher, who forever influenced economics with his book The Wealth of Nations. In this book Adam Smith wrote about many different aspects of an economy, consequentially, he wrote a metaphor that has shaped his legacy tremendously. The metaphor he wrote dealt with the “free market” theory; which he wrote acted as an “invisible hand.” Well why Adam would refer to a “free market” as an “invisible hand?” Dictionary.com in 2015 defines “free market” as “an economic system in which prices and wages are determined by unrestricted competition …show more content…
So one way an undocumented person can purchase health insurance is through school. For example on April 27, 2014 Zamosky wrote an article in the Los Angeles Times that stated, “many colleges and universities require students to either buy their school's health insurance policy or show proof of other coverage. Immigration status is generally not questioned when students apply, and the plans are affordable. UCLA enforces such a requirement, and so for the first time in her life Lozano has health insurance. But she worries that once she completes her education she'll no longer have access to coverage” (para. 12). With this occurring it opens a big profit door for private insurance companies. Those private insurance companies see a vulnerability in the system, with a huge profit outcome for …show more content…
In this piece of the health care pie there needs to be a lot of regulation in my opinion. Since buying private insurance is essentially the only option for these kind of people, the insurance companies could raise prices for coverage as high as they wanted hypothetically. So yes, the insurance companies are very willing to sell coverage for a premium of price. On the other side of the coin however, are the undocumented people willing to pay? To most of them it is a luxury to have health insurance not a necessity. Meaning that most of them earn less than minimum wage, and paying for coverage is not their first priority. This leads to supply and demand. The demand for private insurance is there, and also the supply is there as well; with more than one private insurance company out there. This fundamental economic equation results in price equilibrium. However to reach this price point where suppliers are meeting buyers needs is not actually happening in the real world. Why, you ask? Because the private insurance companies are taking the advantage of undocumented peoples vulnerability; which is they rather make big profits than sell at lower prices. It is against the law for the government to give this kind of people insurance, but it is not against the law for the government to set regulations on these other separate entities. Which logically it would benefit everyone in the long run. The insurance companies