How small print Becomes BIG TIME Profiteering

Maybe you've never thought about it; in all probability this is deliberate.

Courtesy: blogs.edweek.org

(SALEM, Ore.) - Come grab that magnifying glass! You'll surely need it to figure out the "fine print". That may be fine for the commercial company running the ad, but a bit bad for your ever-precious wallet.

Some would like to pretend that what you don't know won't hurt you. In these cases, quite the opposite is true! The greater your ignorance of what you sign, the more opportunity there is of exploiting you. And be wary out there. Lots of would-profiteers are ready and eager to join that feeding frenzy and make you into a crunchy little appetizer!

Some ad copywriters deliberately use large words dabbed in Bold Print to catch your attention. Maybe they'll throw in an alluring picture for good measure. Distracting you from the small-print details below is the name of the game.

Other profit mongers rely on energy attrition. They'll pack in so much information in the first few lies -- or paragraphs -- that you'll grow weary before you are half way down the page. Your fatigued eyeballs gasp in disgust and say "No more!" before you manage to hit the fine-print particulars. So surry you've bugged out. That's the hidden agenda, anyway. So long as you sign to the conditions imposed.

The Cornered Consumer

Think about it. You've not had the chance to negotiate. Your views are considered unimportant. The form proposing the "deal" has picked up all the cards and now calls the shots. You are their wee puppet.

Maybe you've never thought about it but in all probability this is deliberate. The companies in question do actually hire lawyers to make sure the cards are stacked for their narrow interests. The legal language is posed in such a way that buzz-words are bandied about and phrases sound innocent enough so that no red flags get noticed. One might call that technique "sugar coating" the conditions.

This same sleight-of-hand takes place even in job hunting.

You usually are forced to surrender your rights to confront anyone that Human Resources questions who may decide to exaggerate or lie about your record. Your reputation is on the line, but you cannot hold others accountable. Fairness goes to the wind.

Finally, using "small print" discriminates against older folks or those with reduced vision. Any company that insists on pulling a fast one is, in fact, scapegoating the older set. Oh how they love to extract all the cash they can from the many years yo may have worked your tail off.

A cautionary tale for us: be on guard. And maybe one our more enlightened lawmakers may pass a bill to have no small print below 6-point font.

May small minds not win this battle!

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Salem-News.com Community Writer Lee Coyne is the founder of Salem's Peace Mural Task Force and is both a writer-poet and amateur cartoonist. He loves to draw out human potential. Lee brings our readers stories from his combined career of journalism and gerontology, and explains that these paths shaped his values. This writer-therapist often views the world as the masks of comedy and tragedy placed upon the scales of justice. For him, optimism inevitably wins. "Lyrical Lee" has traveled to 30 nations aboard and was once a press intern at the UN. His first published article was in The NY Daily News in '59, dealing with the need for integrity in public office.

He also launched the nation's first tele-conference on health education for shut-ins, created the Eldermentors project in VA to pair retirees with immigrant students needing role models, and was the main catalyst behind CCTV's "Public Public" panel show here in Salem. Lee received his BA in International Relations and an MSW in community organization. He currently serves as a member of Salem's Library Advisory Board. To send Lee an email, please write to this address: To send Lee an email, please write to this address: notcoy@netzero.net