I agree, already belong to some of these consumer organizations, and have supported Elizabeth Warren for years, as she has been after wealthy elite and corporate destructiveness for years. The Consumer Financial Administration is her creation and has been clawing back stolen billions on behalf of consumers since the Obama administration.
Some of us are old enough to remember when we workers were "personnel," assumed to be real living people. We became "human resources," things to be strip-mined and clear-cut, bled dry just like the rest of the Earth's natural resources. Until the end of our usefulness to the unnatural, disembodied, fictional abstraction known as a corporation when we're tossed aside with the rest of the ecological devastation. A few dead peasants, fish, trees? So what?!
"Corporate" ironically means embodiment--something physically real, living. These econ parasites are like viruses, hijacking our bodies to keep themselves alive, feeding off of our metabolisms. Yet econ propaganda calls us "consumers" as if we were all merely passive recipients of corporate largesse. So yeah, of course these blood suckers are going to drain us as long as possible. Which is as long as they can keep us convinced that they're the creators and producers, not us. Unreal.
They think we're stupid and will accept these asinine justifications. They count on us believing we have no choice and/or we should defer to our betters. Meaning the rich and powerful; considered successful according to measures that ignore everything outside the system and reward egregious greed, plus the learned classes, particularly neolib economists. We're not supposed to question how destroying the planet for the benefit of a very few makes any sense whatsoever.
Illogical as it is, a great many working-class types voted for him. Many of them voted for him twice and polls say the supreme grifter could actually win against old Sleepy. (Good God what a choice!) Somehow the voters do not realize that Trump and Co. are 100% for the 1%. The dems are a little better for the working class- or not as completely awful- but they are very bad at telling their story. And the Rethuglicans are very good at pitching their neo-fascist BS.
Let's also not ignore the ridiculous rise in prices of food--all explained during the pandemic as the result of "supply side issues," or "personnel issues." The pandemic os over, profits are at all-time highs for many suppliers/manufacturers, and yet prices have not come down. Until WE declare with our wallets that we will not pay $6.00 for a bag of Frito-Lay chips when Aldi's has a virtually identical product for $1.50, prices will not come down. Another way you and I can DO SOMETHING.
Just want to take a chance to make a plug for eliminating Citizens United, which allows the oligarchs to buy their own congress, president, and state governments. Where is 'of the people, by the people, for the people' in today's election cycle?
Democrats should be running ads on this nonstop 24/7 and not the lame ads made by the beltway consultants but good ads made by for example the people that make Taco Bell commercials. Can't anybody here play this game?
Thanks, Jim, for telling it like it is, again. Consumers have suspected these "legal" scams for a while. We support a couple of the organizations you listed, and it has helped us to avoid junk fees on a number of occasions. We encourage everyone to do so - well worth the time and/or money! And if you need another reason to love Joe Biden (who is not perfect, but has done some serious good so far) - well you got it!
I also shop thrift stores, flea markets, artist vendor events , yard sales and vehicles. It's something that l trust a used car salesman more than new, or most of our Government Representatives
the rethuglicans are 100% in favor of any and all corpo-rat gouging, and the dems don't fight it very hard. They need corpo-rat cash too. Public financing of all campaigns and the end to corpo-rat campaign contributions and "independent" attack ads would help. But as old Strom Thurmond said "it's mighty hard ta git a hog ta butcher hisself."
Hmm. You might check out the NIL contracts. College/university are not allowed to have agents, so any number of corporations allegedly are signing college athletes to long-term contracts that do NOT expire upon the athlete leaving, or maybe even graduating from college, a fact often not understood by the athlete. The result would be the athlete bound to a contract when his/her college sports days have ended.
Regarding excessive corporate just keeps climbing. my recent example came from Sams Club (Synchrony bank), mailing statements with a due date within a week (from date of mailing and charging an (automatic) $40.00 lated fee. My wife and I have been cash paying customers for over 10 years. Besides, collecting the late fees, Synchrony wants us to do a balance transfer. Should we trust them with your bank account information? Like trusting Trump not to use the military when he "feels it is necessary". Speaking of which, can we really trust him not to push the red button if elected?
Those who are making up the rules focus and primary care is to speak bigger numbers of dollars over the living reality as justification to sanction a project and make the victims clean up the environmental destruction in the trail of industrial waste and our dependence on transportation. Good Lord help us! The Mountain Valley Pipeline has crossed the Greenbrier River in Pence Springs, WV. The forest fires are out, over 20,000 acres in WV burned, mostly State and National Park Land. God is great, be here now
Yes he did, the second time, after the Senator Manchin squeeze to allow them to raise the debt ceiling to speak bigger numbers and get this boondoggle pushed through no matter what anybody says, they say they're tired of hearing it in regards to the living
Our W Republican State Representative said (l read it in the Charleston Gazette-Mail) basically that everybody is tired of hearing that old Climate Change argument
I wrote earlier, about late fees and direct deposit. Talking to a friend that works in a grocery store who shared that a product that was gluten free to begin with, changed their packaging that now reads gluten free, and upped the price by $1.50.
We had to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal after our local paper--consumed and made woeful by McClatchy--became not worth subscribing too. Anyway, during the recent period of high inflation, businesses were reported by the WSJ to have raised prices to make more profits, because prices were confusing for consumers (what with Covid problems and fall out from Ukraine) and they *could*. There was barely disguised glee at how much prices could be increased.
I agree, already belong to some of these consumer organizations, and have supported Elizabeth Warren for years, as she has been after wealthy elite and corporate destructiveness for years. The Consumer Financial Administration is her creation and has been clawing back stolen billions on behalf of consumers since the Obama administration.
Parasites
Some of us are old enough to remember when we workers were "personnel," assumed to be real living people. We became "human resources," things to be strip-mined and clear-cut, bled dry just like the rest of the Earth's natural resources. Until the end of our usefulness to the unnatural, disembodied, fictional abstraction known as a corporation when we're tossed aside with the rest of the ecological devastation. A few dead peasants, fish, trees? So what?!
"Corporate" ironically means embodiment--something physically real, living. These econ parasites are like viruses, hijacking our bodies to keep themselves alive, feeding off of our metabolisms. Yet econ propaganda calls us "consumers" as if we were all merely passive recipients of corporate largesse. So yeah, of course these blood suckers are going to drain us as long as possible. Which is as long as they can keep us convinced that they're the creators and producers, not us. Unreal.
They think we're stupid and will accept these asinine justifications. They count on us believing we have no choice and/or we should defer to our betters. Meaning the rich and powerful; considered successful according to measures that ignore everything outside the system and reward egregious greed, plus the learned classes, particularly neolib economists. We're not supposed to question how destroying the planet for the benefit of a very few makes any sense whatsoever.
Amen!!!
And will the imposition of those fees upset Mr. Trump? Of course not though the people who are screwed with these fees are his voters.
Illogical as it is, a great many working-class types voted for him. Many of them voted for him twice and polls say the supreme grifter could actually win against old Sleepy. (Good God what a choice!) Somehow the voters do not realize that Trump and Co. are 100% for the 1%. The dems are a little better for the working class- or not as completely awful- but they are very bad at telling their story. And the Rethuglicans are very good at pitching their neo-fascist BS.
I was about to say the same.
Brain-dead such as they are!
Let's also not ignore the ridiculous rise in prices of food--all explained during the pandemic as the result of "supply side issues," or "personnel issues." The pandemic os over, profits are at all-time highs for many suppliers/manufacturers, and yet prices have not come down. Until WE declare with our wallets that we will not pay $6.00 for a bag of Frito-Lay chips when Aldi's has a virtually identical product for $1.50, prices will not come down. Another way you and I can DO SOMETHING.
Just want to take a chance to make a plug for eliminating Citizens United, which allows the oligarchs to buy their own congress, president, and state governments. Where is 'of the people, by the people, for the people' in today's election cycle?
Democrats should be running ads on this nonstop 24/7 and not the lame ads made by the beltway consultants but good ads made by for example the people that make Taco Bell commercials. Can't anybody here play this game?
I’ve been saying that for many years!
Thanks, Jim, for telling it like it is, again. Consumers have suspected these "legal" scams for a while. We support a couple of the organizations you listed, and it has helped us to avoid junk fees on a number of occasions. We encourage everyone to do so - well worth the time and/or money! And if you need another reason to love Joe Biden (who is not perfect, but has done some serious good so far) - well you got it!
The best way to address this issue is-Be a wise consumer.
Don't buy frivolously...buy only what you need and if necessary say "bah humbug" and ignore Xmas.
I also shop thrift stores, flea markets, artist vendor events , yard sales and vehicles. It's something that l trust a used car salesman more than new, or most of our Government Representatives
Farmers Markets too when in season
the rethuglicans are 100% in favor of any and all corpo-rat gouging, and the dems don't fight it very hard. They need corpo-rat cash too. Public financing of all campaigns and the end to corpo-rat campaign contributions and "independent" attack ads would help. But as old Strom Thurmond said "it's mighty hard ta git a hog ta butcher hisself."
Hmm. You might check out the NIL contracts. College/university are not allowed to have agents, so any number of corporations allegedly are signing college athletes to long-term contracts that do NOT expire upon the athlete leaving, or maybe even graduating from college, a fact often not understood by the athlete. The result would be the athlete bound to a contract when his/her college sports days have ended.
Regarding excessive corporate just keeps climbing. my recent example came from Sams Club (Synchrony bank), mailing statements with a due date within a week (from date of mailing and charging an (automatic) $40.00 lated fee. My wife and I have been cash paying customers for over 10 years. Besides, collecting the late fees, Synchrony wants us to do a balance transfer. Should we trust them with your bank account information? Like trusting Trump not to use the military when he "feels it is necessary". Speaking of which, can we really trust him not to push the red button if elected?
Anyone remember Senator Proxmeyer's Golden Fleece awrad? It would be difficult to pick just one recipient!
Those who are making up the rules focus and primary care is to speak bigger numbers of dollars over the living reality as justification to sanction a project and make the victims clean up the environmental destruction in the trail of industrial waste and our dependence on transportation. Good Lord help us! The Mountain Valley Pipeline has crossed the Greenbrier River in Pence Springs, WV. The forest fires are out, over 20,000 acres in WV burned, mostly State and National Park Land. God is great, be here now
I thought Biden allowed this?
Yes he did, the second time, after the Senator Manchin squeeze to allow them to raise the debt ceiling to speak bigger numbers and get this boondoggle pushed through no matter what anybody says, they say they're tired of hearing it in regards to the living
Our W Republican State Representative said (l read it in the Charleston Gazette-Mail) basically that everybody is tired of hearing that old Climate Change argument
OK I understand now.
Money is the root of (all) evil. Written by Pink Floyd in the song Money, about greed .50 y
I wrote earlier, about late fees and direct deposit. Talking to a friend that works in a grocery store who shared that a product that was gluten free to begin with, changed their packaging that now reads gluten free, and upped the price by $1.50.
We had to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal after our local paper--consumed and made woeful by McClatchy--became not worth subscribing too. Anyway, during the recent period of high inflation, businesses were reported by the WSJ to have raised prices to make more profits, because prices were confusing for consumers (what with Covid problems and fall out from Ukraine) and they *could*. There was barely disguised glee at how much prices could be increased.