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/biz/ - Business & Finance

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24464660 No.24464660 [Reply] [Original]

Hey frens,

I know everybody says the free market is the most efficient system but I get the feeling that it's still really fucking inefficient.

Consider the following: there are numerous industries that exist and profit, not by providing value, but simply extract money through the ignorance of their customers. For example:
>Reverse mortgage scams that prey on the elderly and financially illiterate
>All kinds of insurance products that nobody really understands except for the brokers selling them
>Car dealerships fucking people in the ass because they don't understand financing
>Car mechanics fucking people over because they don't understand cars
>Banks charging people overdraft fees instead of simply declining transactions when funds are not available
>and many many more examples

I believe the economy would be radically different if people were unable to profit off of the ignorance of others.

>> No.24464728

>>24464660
ever heard of yelp?

>> No.24464769

>>24464728
Yes, the platform for petty revenge and insults when people don't get extra pepperoni on their pizza.

>> No.24464798

>free market is inefficient
Yes that's why we're here.
>Illegalize profit taking
Congratulations you just made it more inefficient.

>> No.24464919

>>24464660
Nothing has an objective “value” in a market place, so your entire premise is faulty.

>> No.24465156

>>24464919
Value may not be fixed, but there is definitely a difference between creating/providing value and simply taking money from somebody in exchange for a faulty service or good. Otherwise we could all just sell snake oil at sky high prices and there would be no consequences.

>> No.24465519
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24465519

>>24464660
Another one:
>Banks and Colleges (esp. for-profit colleges) that prey on 18 y.o.s and G.I. Bill recipients by telling them "Yeah you can totally make X amount of money once you get this degree."
Even if the loan contract is straightforward, the contract doesn't guarantee that the degree will be useful. And that includes medical tech and I.T. degrees, not just women's studies.

There ARE limits of profiting from ignorance already. For instance, gambling is illegal in most places (except for the state lottery lol), and you can't literally sell yourself into slavery. Also ponzi schemes are illegal (outside of crypto). So it's just a matter of expanding what we protect people from.