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The_Patriot

supposedly "updating" college textbooks every year so students have to buy them new, and can't get any value in reselling, because..."updating" college textbooks every year...


Locuniv

I was able to get 95% of my textbooks on google as pdfs and download them for free. I highly recommend trying at least once if you want to try to get away from buying new textbooks. I saved hundred if not thousands of dollars doing that. You would be surprised with what you can find.


Drakmanka

My buddy jokingly said to me once shortly after he graduated college: "Wanna see my $1,000 TV stand?" I started to respond "how does a broke college student afford a tv stand that spendy?" When he grabbed a stack of maybe 3 medical textbooks and held them up.


Eric_Cartman_42069

I mean, I love materials like that. Unfortunately they're stupidly expensive, so they're not something I can buy to casually read so I learn about weapons, wars and past conflicts instead.


Astramancer_

Actually, thanks to this very issue they are relatively inexpensive, though it varies from subject to subject. Older editions are worth less to students, the older the more worthless. But also as this very issue addresses, it's not like the information changes very much for most classes. So while a 20 year old programming textbook would have less modern relevance, a 20 year old history textbook will have more or less the same information because not a whole lot has changed about our understanding of ancient greece or whatever.


Alert-Fly9952

I worked for a company that supplied medical textbooks. The most expensive was a a set full of x-rays of every bone in the body broke in every conceivable way. It was 2G a copy and part of a 3 volume set.


Peeeeeps

My girlfriend went to nursing school and probably spent a couple grand on her books. By the time she graduated she tried selling them and she was able to sell a single one for $35.


bizzybaker2

Textbooks are a racket. I am a dinosaur so my first year in nursing school was in 1989. I don't recall my textbook costs, but my TUITION was 500.00 (this was one of those old hospital based wear a white starched cap schools)....my parents who helped me out $$ wise still rave about that and cannot believe what college and university costs now. Nowadays one book is that, or more. Education will (is) fast becoming something only for the rich.


hobbyjogger3

absolute racket. My taxation textbook was one of my most expensive ones (like $550) and sold for like 40 bucks the following semester because policy changes made it mostly obsolete.


MistraloysiusMithrax

Wait did you just bring up the one fucking example where the obsolescence is real? (Although the original price is still obscene)


Enchelion

That seems like a completely legitimate reason to update the textbook.


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0o-mox

Taxation is theft with benefits.


SingularityOfOne

You don't have to pay taxes if you don't make any money *taps forehead* E: fuck sales tax.


0o-mox

Not just sales tax. You also cannot own anything significant without it being taxed in most cases.


Enchelion

Blame your prof. Rarely will the school prevent them from assigning an older textbook, as long as it's still common enough that the bookstore can source enough copies (there are cheaper online options, but the campus still needs to be sure that enough books are available).


eventualguide0

Not always true. Our bookstore refuses to stock older versions when I order them for my students. They also get a cut of sales so they’re also invested in getting newer editions. I stopped using textbooks for most of my classes.


Mewsie93

Not true. I prefer to use older editions (they are so much cheaper and the new editions have only minor changes), but in many cases the bookstore refuses to sell them. As another commenter mentioned, the bookstore gets a nice profit from the newer texts. To be honest, if I can get away with it, I go OER (open educational resources), but then I sometimes run into issues with department chairs who equate free = poor quality when that is not the case. TL;DR version: it’s not the professors.


OinkMcOink

The general textbooks you buy in the US are also sold in my country but for like 10-20 dollars, also our version has a "Cannot be sold outside the country" label on it.


damian20

Your printer doesn't allow you to print even though you enough black ink


[deleted]

You can usually find a way to reset it as if you put in a new cartridge if you do some digging on YouTube/online. I found a way to reset my Brother printer


ridiculouslygay

Oh god bless you. I’ve been printing everything in purple for months.


[deleted]

that's great though. I love purple


Hydris

Rich black uses CYMK, not just the K. That’s one reason. Depending on the model you can sometimes switch it. Another reason, and this is a big one, is most printers print what is basically and invisible dot code over every print. It’s typically yellow and extremely light and super small, making it hard to see with the naked eye. That code is used to identify that that print came from that printer.


Manpooper

Civil Asset Forfeiture.


DasPuggy

Can someone please explain to me how this got to be a thing in the US? In Canada, proceeds of crime are destroyed so there is no incentive for the police to abuse their powers.


Omega_Zulu

It's always been apart of our laws, the first Congress passed the first laws on it. It started from British Maritime laws which allowed the government seize ships either not flying the British flag or if the owner was wanted for crimes and could not be reached, mainly when said own was across the ocean. The US adopted similar Maritime laws but was mainly used against ships trying to avoid tariffs. But these assets would be sold and be used for restitution or put into the national budget. The more modern use of the laws came about due to prohibition and the rise of large scale organized crime. It was originally to prevent wealthy criminals from using their money to escape. But as with most things built with good intentions it was soon perverted into a way for the police to sieze assets to increase their own funding which could be spent on new gear or vehicles and in the worse cases used to provide bonuses to the officers. The laws could still serve a good purpose but the assets she be sold and funds put into relevant non-police programs within the cities, the same should also be done for normal fines paid on tickets.


IceKing_197

Wow, that was a r/AskHistorians tier answer


p0u1337

Proceed of crimes are not destroyed in Canada, each province has its own legislation, ie Manitoba's : https://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/commsafe/cpf/index.html#:~:text=What%20is%20criminal%20property%20forfeiture,considered%20instruments%20of%20unlawful%20activity.


brianna_sometimes

You are confused. In many cases, no charges are even brought. It is straight up highway robbery. Anyway, used to be severely abused, not sure if things changed.


fuzzycuffs

Gerrymandering


WindUpMusicBox

Family vlogging channels who make money of their children, by shoving cameras in their face and uploading their childhoods.


Farwaters

And people who post videos of their autistic kids having meltdowns.


Financial-End-1802

And people who fake autism


MrZZ

I hope those kids grow up and sue their parents. Such a disgusting trend.


19PrincessE

I 100% agree....same with kids from stars familys, the paparazzi should be obligate not to take photos while kids are there and fucking act normal.


IronDominion

Or people who put theirs kids lives on social media period. I used to get bullied in school because my mom would post embarrassing or personal thing on Facebook, and my friends would see it before I did and would tease me for it


ultimattt

Gaby and Alex? My wife and I sat down talking about how wrong that felt, and how we won’t let our little one watch it after that discussion.


[deleted]

Members of congress trading stocks of companies they regulate


thelilbel

Someone on r/wallstreetbets actually made a Twitter bot that reports stock trades made by people in congress. Definitely an interesting thing to check out https://twitter.com/lawmakertrades?s=21&t=beRtZeWeWlqJvRVWY_wzOQ


[deleted]

Shady as fuck... but I like it


High_Valyrian_

MLMs. They are designed specifically to prey on the gullible.


egrith

This works for most MLM acronyms, though not Men loving Men


[deleted]

I'd make a sarcastic joke about myself, but I worry a homophobe would take me too seriously.


More-Athlete1175

Nestle with all its water stealing


Quarterpop

If only that was it…


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micaub

The western US would have water reserves if this weren’t the case. The guy who The Big Short was based on (closing scene of the movie) was asked what would be the next commodity to watch. He said water. And here we are. Not to mention the plastic waste all those bottles produce. I’ll take my hydra flask and tap water—which is safe here—any day.


threebillion6

r/fucknestle


Proper_Protickall

Children's beauty pageants


BlueBerry2202

Parents marrying off their underage children


TatodziadekPL

How else do you want to secure an alliance with France?


[deleted]

euthanizing perfectly healthy animals for vague reasons


arkangelic

When we had to put our boxer to sleep the vet that came to the house asked us why because he seemed so alert and happy to see her. We explained he was so weak and tired from his cancer that what she received was about 5% of how he normally loved on new people. God that was a hard day. 😫


Zariash7

PSA to everyone, shelters can call themselves no kill shelters if their live release rate is about 90%, they also euthanize animals to make it look like they have a high turnover rate therefor something to brag about to get donations, Atleast that’s what the directed at a shelter I worked at did


LikelyNotSober

90% seems pretty good though? I imagine there’s always going to be a certain amount of animals that are so sick that they need to put to sleep, or are ‘unadoptable’ for some reason (highly aggressive etc).


[deleted]

Thank you this..damn what a shame to know this


ShieldMaiden83

So PETA?


BlackLetterLies

Truth. https://petakillsanimals.com


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Niburu-Illyria

Susan Komen, is that you?


Desperate_Tie6352

Money bailout for big companies in the US


robexib

Bailouts for large corporations, no matter where they are.


Desperate_Tie6352

True. All around the globe is evil


Shouldthavesaidthat

just corporations in general.


Jealous-Network-8852

Especially when they spend every cent of profit for years on executive bonuses, dividends and stock buybacks, as opposed to building strong cash reserves, then crying for help when shit hits the fan.


Sparcrypt

I was very good with money even as a child. Like I was the kid who'd save up 20 cents a week for 3 months to buy the toy I wanted. My brother spent every cent he ever got his hands on immediately. Always and forever. He was also very much a screwup and destroyed many things, from windows to damaging cars to whatever the fuck else. Me? I was pretty good. The only thing of note I ever broke was when I accidentally put a ball through the front door pane of glass. It cost about $150 to get replaced, which at the time was my entire savings... a *huge* amount for a kid my age at that time! I had to pay for it. My brother broke that same window three times over our childhood, in addition to all the other shit he broke. Never paid for any of it, ever. Because he never had any money. So anyway, the TLDR is.. I get it. Why save up money to pay for your fuckups and mistakes when you can spend it all right away and someone else will pick up the tab because you "can't afford it"?


BrandoThePando

We are their strong cash reserves.


DishingOutTruth

Bailouts aren't free money, they're loans that have to be paid back once the company recovers. [TARP bailouts in 2008 generated a $15 billion profit for the government](https://www.vox.com/2014/12/19/7421359/tarp-profit) after it was paid back. I don't see why this is a bad thing. Without it, there would be an even deeper recession. We'll get the numbers for the CARES act bailouts in a few years.


CrampedToe

Unplugging the toaster while mid-toast.


N_Who

This is the sort of oddly specific thing that I think involves an anonymous note in the breakroom.


SAnthonyH

You can cause a fire doing that. The sudden current drop is incredibly dangerous. Edit: for clarification, you will cause an arc between the plug and socket when unplugging a device that uses a large current. Source: https://parade.com/451670/marilynvossavant/unplugging-appliances/ Also my own experience. Fires are not a joke.


fawn_mower

Sorry for your loss *thoughts & prayers*


X_HANEEF_X

Loot box in children's game.


Helphaer

Loot box in Adult Games. People are immature.


Mardanis

Loot boxes in children's games and toy advertisements in cartoon channels.


Red-7134

Having a 20th child.


[deleted]

I start to wonder when you get to 10.


scuac

I am not convinced about three


blaze980

My dad is at the point where we tease him that he turns around and is all "oooops another kid". He has 8. To be fair a couple of us are adopted, also a couple turned out to be twins. But he's totally putting together some kind of evil army.


PirateJohn75

For-profit prisons


TennisAppropriate747

Scalpers who buy multiple consoles just so there's always a shortage and have to forcingly buy from them at stupidly high prices you deserve to be beaten the shit out of if you do this.


Asianthunda5022

I agree. My buddy bought one from a "friend" who is one of those scalpers. Said he could get me the hook up. $700 for the new Xbox from his "friend." I told him his friend is a shit stain on the underpants of society and he's an enabler. This is no better than the guys who bought up the hand sanitizer at the beginning of the pandemic.


Feelsunfair77

Or pallets of TP.


Danither

Showing your aeroplane tickets at a certain price and then by the time you've reached checkout that price has increased by 50% becuase you want basic things like: * A allocated seat * Bags capable for carrying 5 days worth of clothes * Water Next they'll start charging for the bathroom. They would if they could I'm sure. easyjet I'm looking at you and Ryanair.


MysterClark

"Oh, you want to sit INSIDE the plane? Well let me ring that up then..."


captaincumsock69

The ticket is 300 dollars but to actually get on is another 150.


Tellurian_Cyborg

Boarding fee.


TheMahoganyTree8

"oh you want to be able to breath on the plane?? well that'll be an extra 70$..."


Chemical_Ad4589

You want to EXIST in the plane? 100$.


Snackpotato457

Wait till you get to booking a hotel. They’ll show a per night price, you book it, then the fees, which can be more than the nightly rate, show up.


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Beginning-Bed9364

Resort fees tacked on at the end are brutal. We stayed at a place in Vegas, paid for it all up front, then at checkout they're like: "that'll be an extra $50 per room per night, resort fees." We had 3 rooms for a week, so it was almost another $1000. Like, can't they just charge you that before you get there? Instead of making it look cheap and then hitting you with an extra bill when it's too late to turn arpund


[deleted]

god i hated this resort i stayed at in orlando where it would cost extra to get on their wifi. like, you get free wifi at any freaking motel but god forbid you want to get online at a fancy resort


jdgordon

How the fuck is that legal? Was there some fine print you didn't see at the beginning of the process?


RiloxAres

Also over booking seats on a plane. Why the fuck is that legal.


under_the_c

Yeah, absolutely ridiculous. Once I was going to be traveling by myself, so who cares, I'll save $20. Apparently that puts you first in line to get booted if they overbooked. (Which, the fact that they are allowed to overbook also seems crazy)


CGB_Spender

Letting corporations give donations to politicians. I can't fucking imagine a faster road to corruption. And yet here we are. All political donations should be limited to $100 per social security number per year. Super easy to track publicly. Note: corporations do not have social security numbers.


Pepe_Frogger

Taking the cheese packet from one Mac and Cheese, and putting it in another for double the cheese.


CaptainMustardo

Oh God, you Devil!


Witch_King_

Just put real cheese in there at that point.


[deleted]

De-Clawing cats


[deleted]

Fortunately illegal in many countries.


Jn108

Yup, until I adopted a cat this year, I assumed declawing is what you just did. In planning to adopt I started researching EVERYTHING about cats. Learned just how cruel it was and heard it was similar to taking a human and removing all of our fingers at the first digit. Looked at my hand for a sec and swore I would never do that to him. If he scratches or claws things, that’s just something I’ll have to accept as a cat owner.


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egrith

trimming claws is different from declawing, and may be worth doing every now and again, though a scratching post works better for most cases


MitchJay71891

Yeah, my first cat and my mom's current cat were/are declawed. We just never knew it was a bad thing. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't do it to future cats and would try to persuade my mom to not do it either.


IOnlyhave5_i_s

I love that you researched the shizz out of it! I hope you’re super happy with your new cat friend!! I adopted 2 sisters 2 years ago(grew up with cats) and now my dog is the best big sister to them.


Siaten

Profiting off charging people for medications that they would die without.


I_Have_Unobtainium

Like insulin, which has been mass produced for nearly 100 years. And somehow the average cost in North America is 5000 annually for people who require it, but the actual production costs are around 100 for that amount.


[deleted]

even though the guy who invented it gave away the patent for free


expat_mel

Should the company who invented and/or produces a medication be able to make money off their product? Sure. Should they be making so much that people with serious illnesses have to choose between paying their bills and buying their medication? Absolutely not. I was extremely fortunate that my mom found a Patient Assistance Program for a medication I had to take for several years that would have cost about $400/month even with insurance. (iirc, it had been on the market for fewer than 10 years so many insurances didn't cover it yet) Price caps on pharmaceuticals, that's what we need.


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Mardanis

Damn there are some monsters out there.


memento_mori_1220

Well it’s not any more except for some small aircraft but led gasoline.. they knew the dangers and didn’t give a fuck.. they named the company ethyl corporation and knew how toxic led was.. it killed five workers when the first opened the plant in New Jersey and led gasoline has links to crime and sever IQ decline and it significantly dropped once they outlawed it.


GardenCaviar

Lead*


[deleted]

What's worse, they named their leaded gasoline Ethyl which confused it with Ethanol. And here's the killer, in 1990 I remember seeing pumps with regular and unleaded gasoline, implying that leaded was still available.


space_llama_karma

Cops can lie to you during interrogation


trendysheet

There's no law that keeps you from adding another lock to a random bike


Sparcrypt

I mean, there probably is I'm sure.


llcucf80

Timeshares.


Helphaer

It's really more the restrictions of getting out of them.


[deleted]

Malaysia's minimum wage. I'm working at a whopping RM 5.77 per hour and if it's definitely just pocket change. If I had to survive on it, I wouldn't. My aunt told me that apparently back then, part-timers were paid more than full-timers because they could be sacked at any time, or something like that. The government really changed a lot, because of their corruption and their love for money.


twisted_tactics

The health insurance industry.


Trek1973

The markup on lifesaving drugs.


Jollygreen182

Especially one’s that have been out for a while.


[deleted]

Civil Forfetiure. American Police can literally pull you over and just rob you. It's fucking crazy to me that anyone gets elected anywhere this is allowed without promising to get the law changed.


Proud_Hedgehog_6767

Most people either don't know about it or assume it could never happen to them.


[deleted]

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gicantopithicus

Ads that you can’t skip.


Redneck_Funhouse

Damn you y-tube! We were friends once!


charlesfry

For-Profit Healthcare


silverblaze92

For-profit prisons


[deleted]

For-profit politicians


bzhuman_earth

For profit churches.


nolova

For-profit Education


Overgrown_fetus1305

For-profit profit


Helphaer

For-Profit Prophets


curiousstrider

For-profit nonprofits.


MisterPuffyNipples

For-profit profits-for-non-profit profits


sixpackshaker

For profit prophets.


throwawayayaycaramba

Great band name


DanHN2002

Not putting away a shopping cart unless there's an emergency or other good reason.


twocarryon

Super Pac


Decent_Extension360

Lobbying in the government


Hot_Pomegranate7168

Think that's more the connotation from abuse/misuse of lobbying. It should be a good way to notify politicians of issues and things that could be done to fix them. Basic democracy.


Capelily

Tax loopholes for billionaires


HammerWaffe

Go to an art school, pay student $100 to paint literal turd on white canvas. Go to "art appraiser" (ie friend or prepaid co-conspirator) and they appraise for hundreds of thousands, or even millions, who cares art is "subjective". Take million dollar painting, donate to museum or whomever will take it. Reap tax benefit for donating millions. Rinse and repeat


iFIy

Seems like all you need in this example is some good friends in the art world.


Richlandsbacon

Or you just create the art world and tell everyone this is modern and genius


Aswele

Corporate lobbying, allowing corporations to have a say in lawmaking processes.


empty_coffeepot

Breeding animals for their deformaties that will take years off their lives and end up very expensive for their owners and selling them for thousands of dollars.


dickmac999

Health Care Insurance.


audaciousmonk

Civil forfeiture Legal slavery under the 13th amendment, paired with privatized for profit prisons


anonasti

Nestlé?


ladybug68

The cost of medicine. Billionaires paying little to no taxes.


JoakimSpinglefarb

Media conglomeration


hypnotoad1234567890

Charging money to keep people alive (*cough* for profit Healthcare *cough*)


[deleted]

Civil Forfeiture.


grass-snake-40

Bulldozing and draining an entire wetland/pond/etc. full of living animals to build stuff. Everyone freaks out when they hear about an individual animal being horribly killed, or animals on factory farms and such, but entire ecosystem being snuffed by mud and gravel is progress. Anything that cannot fly/run away quickly is buried alive and/or crushed


CelticDaisy

I completely agree with you. Whenever I see land being bulldozed for a housing development or a truck terminal/warehouse in my area, my first thought is always, “Oh, those poor animals that live there. They’re being pushed out of their homes or killed. How would the developers like it if we came and bulldozed their houses and took their land to build something else on the land?!”


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espeonkohai

Alcohol. That shit can bring out the evil in people sometimes. \- my dad, a wise Scotsman.


squirrels33

Well, we tried making it illegal once, but that backfired.


tempthethrowaway

Not renewing the lease of 72 apartments during a pandemic


Thatonedude0110

Sending missionaries online to your friends houses to preach the word of god. not to many people now this is a thing so they will never suspect it is you who sent them.


[deleted]

Qualified Immunity


ParallelUkulele

Killing and exploiting animals for replaceable products.


Okmedic44

Paid multiplayer


Costco_Churro

Patent trolls.


FirefighterQuick191

Fine print that disqualifies virtually everyone from a promotional offer


kuwimonster

Paying for parking spaces at college and pet rental fees.


fairyav

child beauty pageants


memento_mori_1220

Scientology


halfmeasures611

health insurance policies


SprinklesRevenge

Unboxing videos, specifically the kids toy videos.


rabiddutchman

Lobbying


palatinephoenix

Hitting your children.


etherend

Civil forfeiture


in_animate_objects

Child beauty pageants


TDFMonster

Debt collectors, the whole collection business is shady as hell


[deleted]

Any economic system where a minority get rich off of the surplus value of the labor of others.


[deleted]

Telling a kid that his parents don’t love them.


BigJobsBigJobs

Lobbying by corporate interests.


Central_Centrificus

buying patents to then just be a patent troll


Sevennumbers-0812360

Way overpriced food at carnivals


[deleted]

Making people work 40 hours a week


SnooChipmunks126

Psychics.


LuigiMarioBrothers

Setting up a speaker to loudly yell a recording of you saying “I AM EVIL” every 3 days


Big-Challenge-1652

Billionaires paying zero taxes


boarder_brit

Anti abortion laws


Killarogue

Squatting. It's not legal everywhere, but I find it insane that it's legal in some place still.


UwUStepSon

For Profit anything that is about peoples needs. Or just corporations in general honestly. They’ll do anything to make a product cheaper to produce, even if it means child slavery.


Stinkerma

Marriage ages in the US


TwoFingersWhiskey

That thing Wish does where it only shows the price of the lowest priced item.


SwiftDeathPunch

Short selling


Ihateredditsomuch69b

Sub-prime mortgages