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There will always be thieves who think they're smarter than everyone else and try to rob us of our money. Thanks to the internet and social media, they can even do it remotely while the whole world is locked down, going through a pandemic.

And while we try to calm ourselves down by saying that sooner or later they will get caught and punished, as one Reddit post shows, some won't. Because we're not even chasing them!

Сreated by user u/F1yff, it asked people the question: "What is a legal scam that is still happening in 2022?" and has received plenty of real-life examples that are still thriving. Here are some of them.

#1

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Churches not paying taxes. It's completely unacceptable and really disgusting. I cannot imagine tithing to a church with a pastor who has big houses and a private jet and luxury cars.

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#2

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Televangelists like Joel Osteen.

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#3

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Charging for parking in Hospitals and Clinics.

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Peej Maybe
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Agree if it's a private parking firm scalping people for huge amounts of cash. Don't necessarily agree if that money is being fed back into the health trust or hospital itself (though of course that shouldn't have to happen at all, nor should the vast amount of charitable monies that hospitals rely on)

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#4

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist American restaurants forcing the burden of employee wages onto their customers.

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Jaekry
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How about the employer pays the employee? Crazy concept, but it works!!! And if that employee makes the customer extra pleased with the provided service, that tip goed to that employee! (And not the employer...) I still can't believe how weird that US system is. It almost feels like it is extortion of the employers. Or should I drop the "feels like" in the previous sentence?

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#5

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Private prisons. You're telling me that they charge the government for the beds and the taxpayers still gotta foot the bill if those beds are empty so the company running it "doesn't lose money"? F*ck you.

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Andy Acceber
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Let's add prison phone charges. If we're really trying to rehabilitate people so they emerge as helpful members of society, why are inmates charged up to $5.70 for a 15 minute phone call? This is the state that pays prisoners $0.13 per hour to work.

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#6

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Charging people money to withdraw money or because they have small (positive) balances in their bank accounts.

P13r15 , unsplash Report

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Tilly Jean
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This!! Recently I have noticed a lot of bank ATMs are being replaced by non-bank ATMs which charge a fee to withdraw money. Getting to the point where I have trouble finding a local ATM that I can withdraw money from without paying money.

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#7

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Insider trading within Congress.

But if WE do it, we end up in prison.

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#8

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Having to file your own taxes then being fined if you don’t do it right.

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#9

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist "News” which isn’t useful or objectively true, and therefore not news, but propaganda.

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Jaguarundi
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ronald Reagan's legacy, he abolished the "Fairness Doctrine". Contrasting viewpoints on controversial subjects were no longer required by law, so, networks were given free rein to embellish the stories reported.

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#10

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Civil forfeiture. You're going to tell me that a cop thinks that my property might be used for illegal activity, and that cop is going to steal it from me and pad their departments bottom line? What the actual f.

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#11

Software as a service.

Once I buy a piece of software that works, it doesn't cost the company more money to make it if I use it for longer. It makes no sense to pay a monthly fee for the permission to use Adobe Photoshop, it's ridiculous.

People say "oh, but you get updates" -- if I want to get the new version of Photoshop, I can pay for a new license.

Any update that fixes bugs should come free, because actually I'm not paying for a buggy product am I?

Video games, as sh*tty as the industry is, are doing this right. You pay once, up front. Then you get patches and security updates for free. Of course there are still problems, but at least buying a video game isn't as much of a scam as subscribing to Adobe's Creative Cloud plans. Total ripoffs.

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Nasren Jak
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are fantastic free open source alternatives for most popular Adobe softwares. I use Darktable and GIMP instead of Lightroom and Photoshop and I edit my videos on OpenShot instead of Premiere. They work great and costs 0$ but I donate a little to support those developers and designers. And if you need to recover your data from a corrupted hard drive or something check icarefree, another free software which works way better than those expensive recovery services. Long live open source!

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#12

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Sadly overplayed, but health insurance. Just yesterday there was a post about a guy who had medically necessary surgery and the insurance didn’t want to pay the hospital.

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Babsevs
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Minor tax in UK ensures all medical care is free at point of use ...and yes there are waiting lists...but no one is turned away. No one is penalised for being out of work or not having private insurance. Minor prescription charges in some parts of UK (free in my area Wales) only extra private charges are for opticians and dentistry for adults. You can still get plans for those too...but any medical care required from say an optician finding something requiring treatment is referred back to NHS for treatment with no charge.

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#13

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist "Printing" fee for digital tickets.

eastherbunni , seesawgxn Report

#14

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist MLMs (multi-level marketing companies). 'I'm my own CEO.' No, you aren't. You literally have a company telling you what you can and can't do.

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Braineating Spleen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And most people end up in debt because of MLMs. They're just legal pyramid schemes.

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#15

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Printer ink.

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James016
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is up there with razor blades. In some cases it's cheaper to buy a new printer each time and use the ink it comes with.

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#16

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Cable company making you "rent" a router for 10$ a month.

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Winter Eleven
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate the fact i pay subscription to all the channels. Out of 200 i watch like 20 tops. Vut there's no profit if i only subscribe to 20 favourite ones

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#17

Lobbying.

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Scagsy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Rich people paying richer people to make legislation that makes them richer.

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#19

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Insane rent prices for houses even squatters wouldn’t stay at.

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WilvanderHeijden
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's why The Netherlands has a system where every defect in your rented house means that you pay less rent. At a certain number of defects the house is declared uninhabitable. Landlords hate the system because it means that people can pay less than half of their rent without risking being evicted. The only thing landlords can do to prevent it from happening is keeping the houses up to standard.

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#20

All televangelists

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Jo Choto
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every single human being that makes money from religion, no matter how they do it. Take the Pope, for example.

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#21

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Super-high interest, predatory rent-to-own furniture rental/loan things — where you end up paying, like, $3,000 in the end for a $500 laptop.

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#22

Ticket master. WTF is a handling fee when I am the one handling my own phone?

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Miss Frankfurter
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Companies with bots who buy up blocks of tickets, usually really good ones, and if you wanted a seat in that section you have to pay a fortune to some scam company to get it. Legalized scalping.

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#23

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Charging patients in hospitals for TV service. Their bills are high enough, but you want to add $8/day to not have to sit in silence for 23 hours a day?

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#24

Medication Costs

my dog had hookworm and so my doctor recommended i get treated as well just to be safe - pharmacy called me warning that it would cost me $2,995... asked my doctor if there was an alternative; was able to get an equally effective treatment for $45

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#25

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist The troubled teen industry. It doesn't work. It traumatizes children. It's legal kidnapping.

I hope more attention comes to it and something happens. They're a business and the goal is to make money, not help troubled teenagers. Ffs, half the time the kids aren't even troubled!

E.T.A.: The "Troubled teen industry" refers to for-profit organizations aimed at steering rebellious and at-risk youth onto a better path through reform camps. But their methods are "tough love", negative/positive punishments and physical labor.

Because it's a business meant to make money, a lot of corner-cutting happens. They hire young and untrained staff for less pay rather than therapists and certified nurses & teachers. It's also not regulated at all so they can effectively do whatever they want with little recourse.

They use "scared straight" tactics and beat kids into obedience. They claim the best way to send a kid there is by surprise "so they don't try and run beforehand" - AKA burst into their room at 2AM and drag them into a van with very few belongings.

Look up "Elan School" for a notorious one.

Paris Hilton was kidnapped at 2AM and sent to Provo Canyon when she was 16. Look at how well that worked.

Go through this thread for some horror stories.

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#26

Why insurance goes up after an incident.

The fact that you give regular monthly installments is the intent that they will save you the hassle in case of a problem.

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Jaguarundi
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My homeowners insurance dropped me after I filed my first claim in 16 years. It was a minor claim as well.

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#27

Congress officials being allowed to trade stocks

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Dave P
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They should be allowed to engage in legal business activities like anyone else. It should be in a double blind trust however. The issue isnt the trading stocks, it is that they have direct control.

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#28

Modern art collecting as a easy route to evade taxes. Wealthy person buys painting of black line for $20k, have art appraiser friend appraise for $1.2mm, donate painting to museum or non-profit, write off over a million in losses, zero taxes, celebrate black line like it’s an amazing and deeply moving piece.

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Mewton’s Third Paw
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay well maybe this wouldn’t be done if the tax rate wasn’t insane. Killing your self working half the year for people who hate you and other people who hate your home country, sometimes a mix of both. It’s a fûcking scam, so we scam back. Plus I like my painting of a black line, and it’s worth the value people will pay for it. Sorry you can’t spend my money for me.

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#29

That news in America is entertainment. Can get away with saying pretty much anything and still call it “news”.

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Tenacious Squirrel
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The news in Australia is pretty bad too. There’s even advertisements presented within informational programs that appear as if a factual piece. Shouldn’t be allowed. I don’t even read/watch it now and rely on more objective sources from overseas. There may be some in Australia but I’ve yet to find them.

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#30

College textbooks. "We updated a figure in chapter 8 and changed the page numbers for three Third Edition. It costs $180."

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#31

if debt collectors can trick a grieving person into uttering words that imply you take responsibility for your dead relatives' debts, that can be treated as a binding oral contract and allow them to collect from you

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Babsevs
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is predatory and vile behaviour...not heard of it before ...now I'm horrified

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#32

Usa tax paying system.

Paraphrasing: We know how much you owe, but we want you to calculate it and you have to get it correct under pain of prison or paying too much. Oh and the whole process is more complicated than it needs to be because of private interests.

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Scagsy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is it time to pop the U.S.A. in a big bag and shake them all up? I'm getting a lot of vibes from over the water and none of them involve 'Free' or 'Brave'.

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#33

that cookies still exists on websites. sometimes i don’t have an option but just to give them goddamn cookies! cancel cookies!

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Peej Maybe
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also, anyone who sticks your name on a mailing list and doesn't include an 'unsubscribe' link in any mails back. That's actually illegal, right?

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#34

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Extended warranties, so many promises made, but when time comes for a claim, almost all are denied.

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Robert T
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well the prices for them are getting ridiculous. If you get all labour and parts paid, or a replacement product, then that was good. But a quick bit of maths tells you that you will have paid for a new product usually within 4 to 5 years, and a proportion of that will already have a manufacturers warranty on it. The sensible thing to do is to put the money you would spend on an extended warranty into a bank account each month, and use the money to pay for a repair or buy a new one when it eventually packs up.

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#35

Paying convenience charges when booking tickets online.

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#37

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist If you’re a personal business owner, you may receive what looks to be a bill in your mail from the US Domain Authority. At first glance, you’re under the impression that you need to pay 289 dollars to renew your website domain name… HOWEVER. There is very fine print stating that you are not legally required to pay the listed amount. It’s actually an ad requesting you pay that amount in order to have your website listed on the US Domain Authority site. I can’t imagine how many people have been tricked by this. READ YOUR MAIL CAREFULLY.

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#38

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist My kid's school charges a $3 "internet fee" if you want to refill their cafeteria cards via the website. If you do it in person there's no fee.

If they feel they have to charge a fee shouldn't it be the other way around since if you use their website you aren't taking up anyone's time?

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John L
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To be fair (even though it's not), most of the time they are merely passing the fee the credit card company (or what ever financier they use) for digital fees, onto you.

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#39

politicians and their families investing in the stock market.

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Dave P
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why should you be penalized for being related to someone who is in politics? You are not them. And there should be nothing wrong with members of congress investing their money, it should be in a Double Blind Trust to prevent insider trading and corruption

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#40

Funeral homes. Or to specify for the dunces among us, unethical funeral homes chasing profit at the expense of bereaved people...

The amount of Leeching done to grieving people just boils my blood.

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Jaguarundi
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Weddings and funerals are cash cows since they're emotional purchases, not necessities.

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#41

University fees. I have to not only pay for my classes and admin fees, I have to pay for two separate student Union fees, a technology fee, an online processing fee, and a "recreation and athletic" fee, despite the Fieldhouse being entirely closed due to covid.

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Luther von Wolfen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm working on my MA. I'm 52. I have every intention of paying the absolute minimum on my loans and if I die without paying it off, too bad.

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#42

Taxes on taxes

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Robert T
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is annoying. In the UK, fuel has two kinds of tax on it. Duty and VAT. Duty is added first, then VAT is calculated on the price including duty. So you pay VAT on the duty! If the chancellor increases fuel duty by 1p, you actually pay 1.2p more because of VAT.

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#43

Charging huge fees for parking permits without spending any of that money on the maintenance of those parking spots.

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#44

Working for the current minimum wage. I just want it to have kept up with inflation. That is probably around 22.5/hr iirc. The hardest jobs I’ve ever had was my lowest paying job.

Healthcare in the USA. When you work at a hospital and see the f*ckery that happens you get even more mad.

Student debt in its current state. I know physicians who can’t pay those loans off because the interest is just too high. They’ve been paying for 10 years and still have their original principal loan amount.

Those are just three things that make me the most mad right now.

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DoyleAlan
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I live in Canada and we would have to make around $24 per hour, 40 hours per week, to just live with no extras. That would barely cover rent, transportation, insurance and food/basic necessities. The minimum wage is $15.00. Even if you did make $24 per hour you're just one emergency away from disaster.

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#45

45 Things People Consider To Be Outdated Scams That Somehow Still Widely Exist Insurance companies stating they'll cover 100% of the cost. But when you get the bill, it's 200% and you gotta cover the difference. Who the hell reads 100% as literally anything other than fully covered?

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Becky Moore
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Plus 200% means they'd definitely pay for it all :P maybe they meant 20% The only reason I like living in the UK is because of the NHS!

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