Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day-and What You Can Do About It
by Bob Sullivan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bob SullivanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-12-26
ISBN: 0345496132
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780345496133
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Book Reviews of Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day-and What You Can Do About It
Book Review: This book will pay for itself many, many, many times over.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent book. It tells you everything you need to know to keep from getting ripped off - in fact, it's more like a manual for the frugal. Here is Sullivan's M.O. "Now I am a big believer in personal responsibility. The answer is, yes, we are all responsible for what we sign. In fact, as you can see, I do think people should be responsible for going to some lengths to find the devil in the details when they are making purchases or signing contracts. But cheating is cheating. Misleading is misleading. Obfuscating is obfuscating. None of that philosophical personal responsibility talk [Homo Economicus] should be used as a rationalization to allow companies to do things they know will mislead many people." Amen to that. He also utilizes this metaphor, "Tourists and locals are always treated differently. Tourists always pay more and get less...America's massive corporations long ago noticed this and set about to make us all tourists...Corporate America is making a killing by charging this tourist premiums on everything - one $2 penalty fee at a time. This is what I call "Gotcha Capitalism."" Sullivan covers just about every major industry: credit cards, banks, 401(k)s, mortgages and rentals, cell phones, home phones, pay TV, Internet access, traveling, groceries and Gift Cards.
Only the first 40 pages or so is what I would call a diatribe or a screed; the rest of the book is actually a very helpful guide to avoiding the "tourist traps." If this premise sounds appealing to you then I would also recommend reading these books: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials), Subliminal Persuasion: Influence & Marketing Secrets They Don't Want You To Know, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism or Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life (Vintage). And just in case you want to know what all this "Gotcha Capitalism" has cost us, read: Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and StickYou with the Bill), The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too or Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism. Lastly, this is what "Gotcha Capitalism" looks like - Inequality: Social Class and Its Consequences.
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Summary of Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day-and What You Can Do About It
What is Gotcha Capitalism?Coughing up $4 fees for ATM transactions. Iron-clad cell phone contracts you can't get out of with a crowbar. Paying big bucks for insurance you don't need on a rental car or forking over $20 a day for supposedly "free" wireless internet. Every day we use banks, cell phones, and credit cards. Every day we book hotels and airline tickets. And every day we get ripped off.
How? Here are just a few examples of how big business can get you:
. You didn't fill up the rental car with gas?
Gotcha! Gas costs $7 a gallon here.
. Your bank balance fell to $999.99 for one day?
Gotcha! That'll be $12.
. You miss one payment on that 18-month same-as-cash loan?
Gotcha! That'll be $512 extra.
. You're one day late on that electric bill?
Gotcha! All your credit cards now have a 29.99% interest rate.
But not for much longer. In Gotcha Capitalism, MSNBC.com's "Red Tape Chronicles" columnist Bob Sullivan exposes the ways we're all cheated by big business, and teaches us how to get our money back-proven strategies that can help you save more than $1,000 a year.
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