Can you think of an example of something or someone creating a problem only to sell you the solution? You’re not alone. After someone polled an online forum for their best examples, here is what they had to say. Do you agree?
1. The U.S. Tax System
While acknowledged more as perpetuating the problem rather than creating it, tax companies like H&R Block and Turbo Tax lobbying against the government prepping taxes on your behalf, then charging outlandish fees to do them for you, is maddening.
Moreover, it’s a system of determining what you owe at the end of the year. You’ll probably never see a return if you pay too much for taxes. However, you’ll be slammed with audits, penalties, and fees if you don’t pay enough.
2. No Outside Containers
Have you been to a ball game, concert, festival, or another gathering where you have been told you cannot bring in your bottled water, but then once inside realized vendors were selling them for a ridiculous price? It’s absurd to hand over $6-$10 for a water bottle, but people do it because of things like heat!
3. Apple’s Removal of Ports
Do you remember when Apple removed all ports and came out with dongles full of ports and AirPods? A consumer suggests: “They removed what was a standard feature in the pursuit of selling you a first-party alternative.” People argue it’s to make the device waterproof, but there are other devices with waterproof ports.
4. Nestlé Baby Formula
Numerous individuals remind us of the Nestlé campaign to provide free formula samples to mothers in developing areas. “The sample lasted just long enough that the mothers stopped producing milk, keeping them dependent on formula. Then, when they couldn’t afford formula, they’d dilute what they did have, leading to malnutrition.”
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found: “Infant mortality increased by 19.4 infant deaths per year per 1000 live births among caregivers using unclean water sources in the five years following Nestlé 4 exposure. This is equivalent to a 27% increase in the infant mortality rate for this population and amounts to about 212,000 deaths per year at the peak of the Nestle controversy in 1981.
We also find, as predicted by public health advocates, that the mortality effect was higher among less educated mothers than among higher educated mothers in the sample of households that used unclean water.”
5. Personal Information Protection While Harvesting and Making It Accessible
One user suggests: “Companies that harvest your personal information and make it more accessible to search engines. Then, sell you a service to remove it. Like the Better Business Bureau, which solicits consumers for complaints about your company, amplifies their exposure, and then sells you its reputation defense services.” Others mention antivirus software companies in that same vein.
6. Underfunding Schools While Building Prisons
“Politicians who underfund schools and build prisons instead,” writes one. “Don’t forget cuts to prisoner rehabilitation programs, ensuring that criminals have little choice but to stay criminals and the prisons get plenty of repeat’ customers.'”
7. American Medical System and Health Care
Insurance companies are called out repeatedly. Someone states: “Costs are high because the entity writing the bill knows that insurance companies can afford it. Don’t have insurance? You’re screwed.
Essentially, the fact that insurance companies exist requires you to have insurance.” Health insurance companies set themselves up as an obligatory payment intermediary and then do all sorts of dirty things on top of that.
9. Cultivating Addicts and Addiction Medications
Did you know that more than 8 out of 10 Opioid Advocacy Groups get financial support from drug companies? Then, the groups promote using prescription drugs to counter the addiction that they created in the first place, including Methadone, Suboxone, Subutex, Naloxone, Campral, and Baclofen.
“Prescribed opioids and rehab is basically a free money glitch,” one notes. “The repulsive Sacklers planned on opening a chain of treatment centers to treat the addicts they carefully cultivated.”
10. Planned Obsolescence
One particularly infuriating example is called — planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence is when companies design products to break quickly or become obsolete in the short to mid-term. The idea is to encourage sales of new products and upgrades, a practice banned in some countries.
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Source: Reddit.
Elizabeth Ervin is the owner of Sober Healing. She is a freelance writer passionate about opioid recovery and has celebrated breaking free since 09-27-2013. She advocates for mental health awareness and encourages others to embrace healing, recovery, and Jesus.