Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
A very important part of traveling outside of where you live and, preferably, your country is the ability to learn just how people live elsewhere. Sometimes it’s just a mind expanding experience, but there are cases where you, unfortunately, discover that what you thought was normal is, at best, just a scam.
Someone asked “What's the biggest scam in America?” and people shared their thoughts and comparisons. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to add your thoughts in the comments below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
The use of religion in politics.
RELATED:
#2
Health insurance.
Tyranamar Seuss 10 months ago
Look. If there's one thing you need when you visit America, it's health insurance. Please make sure you get it. Or a simple illness could leave you bankrupt.
#3
The illusion that it's the greatest country in the world. No national health service. Short maternity leaves. High gun crime. And people who worship politicians like God's. And rampant institutionalised racism. And those are just the things off the top of my head.
#4
Tipping instead of actually raising wages for waiters
Edit: I was referring to tipping as a necessary law. Yes people tip, but should they be the ones to ultimately blame if you haven’t been tipped and can’t survive the week? No. It’s the firms that you’re working in. They should pay you enough to not have to DEPEND on just tips to make a living.
Jenn Smith 10 months ago (edited)
Some Pandas may be blissfully unaware that in the U.S, $2..14 per hour is somehow ok for many restaurant workers...so heLL yeah..please tip At least in South Carolina USA
#5
2 Party Political System.
Graham_Illegal 10 months ago
This is a far bigger problem than most Americans are willing to acknowledge.
#6
The whole health system... like... putting a fee on holding your baby after giving birth? Seriously?
#7
COLLEGE TEXT BOOKS. You need edition 10 for this class. They change one chapter in the book make it a new edition over price it and f**k the college kids. Always drove me nuts when I was in college.
#9
News as entertainment.
#10
The idea that you need to be productive all the time. It's ok to just exist.
#11
Insulin prices.
Anne Roberts 10 months ago
Insulin is cheap to make. Pharma companies should be ashamed. I knew a girl who had to ration her insulin - when she could afford it.
#12
The entire credit score system.
#13
Paying your taxes and then never seeing a return on your investment. That's OUR money! Fix our roads, give us health care, educate our children PROPERLY, pay our teachers a living wage, RAISE UP people below the poverty line so they can live with dignity. Stop wasting 750 BILLION a year on our military.
keyboardtek 10 months ago
Noam Chomsky said Ronald Reagan's monster increase in defense spend was the largest transfer of wealth to the upper class in years. No matter which party is in power, every year defense spending gets an increase. But when someone talks about single payer healthcare, we are told we have no money for that.
#15
Bank fees. You are broke so we are going to charge you for being broke.
#16
The entire f*****g prison system.
Jenn Smith 10 months ago
Even county jail. Need feminine products? 14.00 a box. Shampoo? Soap?..hope you can pay. Bra and underwear? Lol, we'll be confiscating those..but happy to sell you a new set from our canteen
#17
Mega Churches.
#18
Those payday loan businesses. It’s predatory as s**t and it’s just legal loansharking.
#19
The idea that anyone can become anything — it’s simply not accurate. That’s just something the privileged and the wealthy like to tell the rubes so they don’t protest much when, inevitably, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
#22
Lobbying being legal, student loans, healthcare insurance.
Geoffrey Scott 10 months ago
The revolving door lobbying is what cranks me up. Leave elected office, lobby to your former officemates.
#23
Thinking the republicans or the democrats want the best for the average American.
#24
Trickle Down Economics.
Mike Goslin 10 months ago
Trickle down Economics always made me feel like I was getting p---ed on... 'cause i was.
#26
How we have to file our taxes correctly even though the government knows exactly how much we made every year and if we file it wrong we get penalized....
#27
Online charlatans that will share their "secrets" if you buy their course.
#28
* Gestures vaguely at everything.
#30
Credit system. Pay everything off and your score goes down? Talk about indentured servitude.
Tyranamar Seuss 10 months ago
No, when you pay everything off your score goes up. It's based on things like available credit vs used credit. If you pay off your credit card every month it builds a nice score.
#31
Funerals, weddings, and pretty much every other thing we blindly accept have to be insanely expensive without even thinking about it.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
My uncle ordered a lovely low-cost coffin in advance - from CostCo. (You have to do it on-line. for some reason they don't stock them in the stores.)
#32
That the President runs the country.
Blah Blah Blah 10 months ago
THIS! It astonishes me how many people actually believe this in the US
#33
Health care and College loans.
Abdullah Abd Rahman 10 months ago
This applies to the USA ,not all other countries. Sorry for constantly repeating this.
#34
Cable TV/Internet monopolies.
Oskar vanZandt 10 months ago
The competition for these services is fierce in The UK and switching is easy so it's relatively cheap compared to other countries. My brother in Canada pays triple what I do... Mobile contracts are also very affordable here: eg I'm on a 5G SIM only monthly rolling contract for £12.- which gets me 125GB data and unlimited calls and texts.
#35
Personally, joining the military. Serving my country. Getting exposed to chemicals. Dying from the inside at forty with no help from the society I served.
American dream baby.
Gavin Johnson 10 months ago
This applies to a lot of countries. In the U.K. you have the fallback of the NHS but it’s potluck on the waiting time for certain services, if it’s mental health related then it can be over a year to get some support. We have a few charities like Help for Heroes who will do what they can to support veterans but it’s outrageous that anyone who has served their country can’t get access to the services they need. PS give all you can to Help for Heroes, three mates of mine are still alive thanks to HfH and the work they’ve done.
#36
Online convenience fee for paying bills. Not every bill has it but I found it’s usually utilities and it’s BS. Not the biggest scam but something that irritates me.
#37
I think Student Loan servicers. For example, Navient manages Federally guaranteed debt for the US Gov in Student loans, has the IRS as their personal collection agency. They constantly, I mean CONSTANTLY f**k up to the extent they get dragged in front of Congressional Hearings, and their CEO is paid $7.7M annually.
Geoffrey Scott 10 months ago
Charging 12.5% after assuming all the loans of Wells Fargo. For my part, I attended a meeting of folks to give feedback to my (R) Rep, both state and fed. My first issue was applying for health benefits through the ACA, which kicks you into a Medicaid application because your income fits, but through the process, your assets do NOT. Should have the OPTION of applying for Medicaid, not automatic. My 2nd issue was student loans being any higher percentage than a mortgage rate. NOT forgiveness, but realistic terms.
#38
If you work hard, you could be rich like Bill Gate, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos.
Even THEY admitted that they were at the right place, the right time.
#39
I scrolled really far and was surprised I didn't see Rent to Own stores. They sell furniture and electronics type stuff to people with bad credit who can't really afford it, let them pay a small amount weekly. If people end up paying on time and pay stuff off, they will pay 2 or 3 times more than the item is worth. If they make a payment late the item is repossessed and re sold to someone else and the first person loses all the money they paid.
There are used car dealers that do this same business model with cars too. They put GPS trackers in the car that also disable the starter. They collect $1000 down and once a payment is late they disable the car and go tow it, then sell it again and keep the downpayment. I worked at a shop that installed the trackers and these places would sell the same car to different people 5 or 6 times in a year because they kept repoing it.
Lucas Jackson 10 months ago
Sadly is a cost to being poor and is a hard circle to break. I spent most of my 20s with awful finances and debts. I’ve been there and trust me it gets better.
#40
I have to pick only one? I think our health care system is the largest and most comically villainous of all of them but man, the list is looooong for b******t scams in this wasteland.
#42
Work hard enough, and you’ll reach the American dream. To reach that, you’ll need alot of hard work, yes. But a ridiculous amount of luck as well.
#43
Politicians.
#44
Home ownership.
You never actually truly own a home/land. Skip out on property taxes or even HOA fees and your home can be legally taken from you. Arguably better than renting still but it's never really 'yours'.
#45
H&R Block / Turbotax?
The Weather Channel?
Advertisements on Cable television?
Buying any kind of insurance and then they refuse to pay out a reasonable claim?
#46
The stock market! The amount of corruption that is involved with the US stock market is underestimated.
keyboardtek 10 months ago
These points all make the case for the anti-natalist philosophy. One that recognizes how so much of existence sucks so therefore do not bring any more children into this world. Why force more humans to suffer as they had no choice in being born.
#47
Susan G Komen - WITHOUT A DOUBT
If people actually knew how much of their donation went to salaries/upkeep vs research and help they'd be shocked.
EDIT: Shameless plug since it's GivingTuesday. A friend I know started a charity that gives 100% back to women and families affected by breast cancer (unless you make directed donation towards expenses).
It is called **Breast Intentions** and run 100% by volunteers. No salaries for anyone.
If you know anyone that needs help, wants to run a chapter, or just wants to talk to survivors, they can help! If you donate, they will tell you exactly how your donation was spent, and it can make you cry.
#48
“Trickle Down” Economics isn’t a theory of economics, but a mechanism present in all economics. It’s meaning has been tied to one man’s usage while holding office and misrepresented ever since.
At a macro level of economics, even Keynesian economics applies this to to revenue multiplier for the government’s tax income. And is recognized in wage distribution.
General Anaesthesia 10 months ago
Tinkle down economics, a.k.a. Reaganomics, a.k.a. voodoo economics, is "make sure the already rich have all the money, and their spending will tinkle down to the masses". Well, they've been promising that since Reagan's tax cuts for the 1%, "it could happen any day now". And cutting taxes for the 1% again and again just to "prime the pump" one more time.
#49
The 40 hour work week.
Mike Goslin 10 months ago
If it were only 40 hours, that would be O.K. it's the 50-60 Hr. work weeks for "salaried" employees that are the scam.
#50
I'm in Vegas right now for a conference. 90% of this city is a scam. Only worth while thing is the restaurants.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
Like they say, the money you take to Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas.
What do you think ?
C Hendrix 10 months ago
I'm surprised nobody mentioned that you can't own much of anything anymore. It's all "subscriptions" now.
Janissary35680 10 months ago
I encountered a new euphemism for that yesterday in an annual report I'm translating: "recurring-revenue model-based collaborative agreement". 🤑
Load More Replies...
Susical 10 months ago
Corporate "personhood," which lets giant corporations donate to political candidates unfettered. Also, the Electoral College.
Tams21 10 months ago
This list got pretty boring pretty fast. They're pretty much all either things that were on another BP post maybe 10 minutes ago or things that are in no way unique to the US. Bored Panda please, if you're going to continue with these kind of stories then at least pick another country for once.
Roland Nijveld 10 months ago
But no other country is that weird compared to others than the US. By some margin as well.
Load More Replies... C Hendrix 10 months ago
I'm surprised nobody mentioned that you can't own much of anything anymore. It's all "subscriptions" now.
Janissary35680 10 months ago
I encountered a new euphemism for that yesterday in an annual report I'm translating: "recurring-revenue model-based collaborative agreement". 🤑
Load More Replies... Susical 10 months ago
Corporate "personhood," which lets giant corporations donate to political candidates unfettered. Also, the Electoral College.
Tams21 10 months ago
This list got pretty boring pretty fast. They're pretty much all either things that were on another BP post maybe 10 minutes ago or things that are in no way unique to the US. Bored Panda please, if you're going to continue with these kind of stories then at least pick another country for once.
Roland Nijveld 10 months ago
But no other country is that weird compared to others than the US. By some margin as well.
Load More Replies... You May Like 38 Australians Share Culture Shocks Tourists Get While Visiting From Famously Dangerous To Surprising, Here Are 50 Destinations That Solo Women Travelers Didn’t Find Safe 30 Americans Living In Canada Reveal The Differences Between The Two
Shelly Fourer
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Ieva Pečiulytė
Related on Bored Panda
