How Biden is Scamming the American People on “Junk Fees”
One of the wonderful things about no longer running a news website is that I didn’t have to force myself to sit through Joe Biden’s brain-numbing State of the Union speech last night so that I could punch up 2 to 3 outrage-bait pieces that would run afterward.
It’s a small blessing, but I will take it.
That being said, I did still hear about one minor, but particularly irritating detail of Biden’s speech. It was about the last part. “junk fees.” If you need a refresher, here’s The speech’s relevant text:
My administration also accepts junk fees, the hidden surcharges many companies use in order to make you more.
For example, we’re making airlines show you the full ticket price upfront. If your flight is cancelled or delayed, you can get your money back.
We’ve reduced exorbitant bank overdrafts by saving consumers more than $1 billion a year.
We’re cutting credit card late fees by 75 percent, from $30 to $8.
Junk fees might not be important to the wealthy but they are to many people in homes such as mine, which I grew up with, just like many of you. These fees can cost hundreds of dollars per month.
They can make it difficult for you to pay your bills, or even afford a family vacation.
I understand how it feels to be overcharged by a company and get away with it.
No more.
We’ve written a bill to stop it all. It’s called the Junk Fee Prevention Act.
We’re going to ban surprise resort fees that hotels charge on your bill. Those fees can cost you up to $90 a night at hotels that aren’t even resorts.
We — the idea that cable, internet, and cellphone companies can charge you $200 or more if you decide to switch to another provider — give me a break.
We can end service fees for tickets to concerts or sporting events, and require companies to disclose all fees upfront.
And we’ll prohibit airlines from charging $50 round trip for a family just to be able to sit together.
Baggage charges are already a big problem. Airlines can’t treat your child like a piece of baggage.
Americans are tired of being — we’re tired of being played for suckers.
So, pass — pass the Junk Fee Prevention Act so companies stop ripping us off.
Most normal people, who have not been immersed in politics for two decades plus, may think this is something petty for the government to be involved in, but they won’t understand why this is actually a transparent scam from top-to-bottom. So, let’s talk about that.
First of all, let’s start with the obvious. The government should not be involved in micromanaging secondary fees that many businesses charge. It’s really none of their business, but of course, there must be some polling data that shows these fees really annoy people, so the same politicians who are doing absolutely nothing to fix any of the major challenges confronting our country are supposedly going to step up to “fix” airline baggage fees. Of course, as you’re going to see, that won’t really happen in a meaningful way.
It’s almost like getting a gun and having it stuck in your back in the car park. That’s when the thief says, “I just wanted to let you know that they overcharged you 50 cents for your omelet! Now, give me everything in your wallet.” Have people forgotten that we’re paying the government far more in taxes than we’re losing in any “junk fees?” If Joe Biden is so concerned about what everyone is paying credit card companies and airlines, why doesn’t he just cut our taxes by 20%, and then we can pay all of those fees and have huge amounts of money left over? It’s great that America’s bandit king is so concerned that the people he’s looting are getting shafted, but he’s still not concerned enough to take his hand out of your pocket.
Also, he’s not going to reduce the amount people pay in. “junk fees.” Why would I say this? Here’s how the next part of this rigged game plays out. Either the Biden Administration or his allies in Congress, will contact lobbyists from all these industries to tell them they want to reduce these fees.
At best, fees will be added to another bill if the bill passes. These are the fees. “junk fees” New and better will come. “junk fees” They will replace them. If that won’t work for some reason, then they’ll raise prices. If let’s say, they don’t allow hotels to charge a “resort fee,” which is just an all-purpose, bullsh*t fee for various amenities, maybe the hotel will charge you for having cable TV in the room, make you pay more for Internet or charge you a dollar each time you go up and down in the elevator. The hotel charged me a large fee for checking into my room in New York when I was there last year. If it’s none of those things, they’ll just charge more for the rooms, but what they are not going to do is eat the loss of all that money. In other words, if they can’t take money out of your left pocket, they’ll take money out of your right pocket, but they’re still going to end up getting the money – and that’s the “best case scenario” where they pass a law and you don’t really save any money.
The “worst case scenario,” This is a common occurrence in DC. Lobbyists representing large corporations will gladly work with Congress to craft the bill in their favor. Typically, what they will do in that case is deliberately take on greater costs that they will ultimately pass on to you, which seems baffling, until you realize they’re doing it because they can bear those costs much better than their smaller competitors. This is how they use it to make the government work for them to eliminate their competition. What do you want? This is an example of how it works in the real world?
Mattel, a major toymaker, was caught selling toys containing lead. Its lobbyists convinced Congress to require all toymakers undergo expensive lead testing.
Carney says that it sounds like they are just trying to protect children.
“If you’re trying to test 1,000 Barbie dolls,” He responds, “that might be fairly efficient. But if you are a grandpa making little wooden handmade toys, you’d have to hire some third-party tester. That could cost you $1,000, and you’re not going to sell your wooden toy for $1,000. It effectively outlawed handmade toys.”
After small toymakers complained, Congress exempted those who produce less than 7,500 toys per annum. Small toymakers cannot be exempted.
“Maybe what [Mattel] did,” Carney: “is say, ‘This is our opportunity through regulation to kill some of our competitors!'”
The suckers hear Joe Biden talking about cutting credit card fees and getting rid of resort fees and they think he’s doing something for them. People who believe that these are scammers are playing marks and they continue to be tricked year after year by different scams. They can’t understand why we keep passing new laws. But, they don’t get better. They must be Republicans. We can point out what’s going on. We can explain how the scam works. We will do our best to protect your interests. However, unless those people are gone, nothing will change. “Oh! If I send the Nigerian prince this $500 fee, he’s actually not going to send me a million dollars! I probably shouldn’t even talk to that guy, and I definitely shouldn’t send him any money!” Biden and Democrats are helping you to believe this, but you’re wrong. They think you’re stupid and so nothing ever changes. Stop the cycle.
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