CORPORATIONS ARE HARASSING AND ABUSING AMERICANS

CORPORATIONS ARE HARASSING AND ABUSING AMERICANS

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

Do you remember the good old days where a business that incessantly called you on the phone could be asked to stop phoning and they would stop? There were federal laws and regulations that had sufficient teeth to prevent this harassment. Your home was protected from phone invasions. It made for a peaceful atmosphere at home at least as it pertained to annoying corporate attacks on one’s right to privacy.

A person’s privacy and time is under relentless attack. Currently when you are attempting to do business like changing your seat on a flight, initially you are told by an automated voice that your waiting time will be six minutes with obnoxious repetitive music and promotional messages to fill the time. It turns out to be twenty minutes or more. This means the company has a captive person they can expose to a bombardment of promotions and contests while telling you how well the company is doing, often based on misleading information.  

Today even if you win a vacation it can be nightmarish to travel to and from the vacation spot. Corporate airlines have taken indecent liberties to another level. They admit to saving money by having aircraft only in service to meet their immediate scheduling needs. When an airplane has to be repaired the passengers are delayed for hours disrupting their connecting flights and plans. Airlines admit to flying with the minimum amount of fuel reserves to increase efficiency. If the flight is cancelled the traveler may get another flight in a day or two. If they are creative and daring and find another way to their destination they are later informed they will receive only a small percentage of the original cost of the flight that was not used.

Most airlines have also done away with contingency crews and reserve airplanes that could arrive in a short interval to correct the flight schedule. This is no longer required and rarely done. Instead, the customers are mistreated as if they were transported cattle with no dignity or even consideration. Presently, for any overnight delays it is no longer required to put up passengers in a hotel as they can rely on the excuse of bad weather, which excludes the airlines from liability: so much for the airline Passenger’s Bill of Rights.

Politicians, both left and right are hiring public relations companies to handle their missteps or campaigns. These campaigns usually combine political messaging and fundraising. You receive a letter or phone call to convince you their candidate is going to work for your interest. If you are persuaded to send money to support the candidate or humanitarian organizations you have opened a Pandora’s Box. The bombardment of various appeals does not cease for your donation history has been sold to other similar enterprises.

Facebook, Google, Microsoft and credit card corporations are currently confessing they are selling your personal information to other corporations and government entities to micro target you. They are now telling the public that their service is free or low cost because of these privacy violations. This violation of one’s privacy was not made public initially but only during recent government investigative hearings.

The online social media and mammoth search engines have demonstrated their power to censor our news. When a “racist” or derogatory statement is made about a right leaning individual, these statements are allowed to stand but if it is made about a left leaning person, it is expunged. “Shadow banning,” blocking followers from receiving a message is one method of halting the spread of conservative information. Another way is to bury anti progressive articles by placing pro progressive ones on top of them. Any conservative viewpoints disappear before they reach the eyes of the public.

Large corporations can hire an incredible legal staff and well connected lobbyists. These two facts can tilt the playing field in their favor over the consumer and competitor. Big corporations eliminate competition before it presents a threat by gobbling up small effective businesses. Consumer complaints are worthless without specific laws that have sufficient teeth to protect the little guy.

Anti trust legislation of the early 1900s returned competition to save the capitalist system. When mega corporations have ample power to dictate how they will do business, it is time for our government to step in to right this wrong of corporate abuse. Citizens should call their representative’s offices and support those politicians who are committed to using congressional legislation to protect the people’s rights. Demand politicians protect our right to privacy from corporations selling our personal information.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN  and a new book entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can see many of Dr. Maglio’s articles at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.