Corporate greed: Difference between revisions

Line 1:

'''Corporate greed''', or simply greed, is a modern phenomenon in which corporations pursue goals for profit and shareholder-value without valuing customer thoughts and consumer rights.<ref>https://aflcio.org/issues/corporate-greed</ref>

'''Corporate greed''', or simply greed, is a modern phenomenon in which corporations pursue goals for profit and shareholder-value without valuing customer thoughts and consumer rights.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corporate Greed |url=https://aflcio.org/issues/corporate-greed |access-date=15 Jan 2026 |website=aflcio.org}}</ref>

== Why it is a problem ==

When companies increase prices & cut corners with no regards to their customers, they'll be positively impacted short-term, but long term they'll be negatively impacted with decreased trust & sales.

Not just that, but there are people who depend on certain software, which may be too expensive for them to afford, and it may be difficult for them to make a switch, this is only something that harms both sides.

Consumer over-reliance on products and a corporation's domination over other businesses may create what's known as a [[Monopoly]], which is '''potentially''' illegal if the company also partakes in anti-competitive practices that harm consumers & restrict competition, as defined by antitrust laws.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Antitrust Laws |url=https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws |website=Federal Trade Commission}}</ref>

=== Corporate Greed from a Consumer rights perspective: ===

----

==Common Tactics Used to Increase Profits:==

Line 7:

Line 17:

#A company simply increasing the prices on products & [[Subscription service]]'s alike for no apparent reason. (Also known as "Price Gouging")

#Using targeted/personalized ads in order to gain more data on someone, only to sell that data to more advertisers & third-party websites.

#Purposefully decreasing the quality of some products to save money and/or to encourage consumers to buy newer & more powerful items to replace the older ones. (Also known as "[[Planned obsolescence]]")<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jalan |first=Ayush |date=7 Jun 2023 |title=What Is Planned Obsolescence? How Brands Keep You Buying |url=https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-planned-obsolescence/ |website=makeuseof}}</ref>

#Purposefully decreasing the quality of some products to save money and/or to encourage consumers to buy newer & more powerful items to replace the older ones. (Also known as "[[Planned obsolescence]]")

#Decreasing the average wages of some or all types of employees.

#Retroactively restricting access to features on items that you've already bought/paid for to push you into giving more money to use previously freely accessible features (more commonly known as a "Paywall" or "Digital lock").

#Decreasing the sizes of products while keeping the prices the same(Also known as "Shrinkflation", and It's more common in supermarkets & retail stores).

#Implementation of [[False advertising]] or [[Bait-and-switch]] tactics in a company's commercials to bring in more customers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 Jan 2025 |title=Spotting Predatory Business Tactics: A Consumer's Guide to Self-Defense |url=https://keepm.granitlabs.com/blog/predatory-tactics |access-date= |website=keepm}}</ref>

#Implementation of [[False advertising]] or [[Bait-and-switch]] tactics in a company's commercials to bring in more customers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calhoun |first=George |date=14 Nov 2024 |title=Is Price Gouging Real? Who’s Doing It? Is It Driving Inflation? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgecalhoun/2024/11/14/is-price-gouging-real-whos-doing-it-is-it-driving-inflation/ |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jalan |first=Ayush |date=7 Jun 2023 |title=What Is Planned Obsolescence? How Brands Keep You Buying |url=https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-planned-obsolescence/ |website=makeuseof}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=11 Jan 2025 |title=Spotting Predatory Business Tactics: A Consumer's Guide to Self-Defense |url=https://keepm.granitlabs.com/blog/predatory-tactics |access-date= |website=keepm}}</ref>

==See also==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{StubNotice}}
-'''Corporate greed''', or simply greed, is a modern phenomenon in which corporations pursue goals for profit and shareholder-value without valuing customer thoughts and consumer rights.<ref>https://aflcio.org/issues/corporate-greed</ref>
+'''Corporate greed''', or simply greed, is a modern phenomenon in which corporations pursue goals for profit and shareholder-value without valuing customer thoughts and consumer rights.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corporate Greed |url=https://aflcio.org/issues/corporate-greed |access-date=15 Jan 2026 |website=aflcio.org}}</ref>
+== Why it is a problem ==
+When companies increase prices & cut corners with no regards to their customers, they'll be positively impacted short-term, but long term they'll be negatively impacted with decreased trust & sales.
+Not just that, but there are people who depend on certain software, which may be too expensive for them to afford, and it may be difficult for them to make a switch, this is only something that harms both sides.
+Consumer over-reliance on products and a corporation's domination over other businesses may create what's known as a [[Monopoly]], which is '''potentially''' illegal if the company also partakes in anti-competitive practices that harm consumers & restrict competition, as defined by antitrust laws.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Antitrust Laws |url=https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws |website=Federal Trade Commission}}</ref>
+=== Corporate Greed from a Consumer rights perspective: ===
+----
 ==Common Tactics Used to Increase Profits:==
@@ Line 7: / Line 17: @@
 #A company simply increasing the prices on products & [[Subscription service]]'s alike for no apparent reason. (Also known as "Price Gouging")
 #Using targeted/personalized ads in order to gain more data on someone, only to sell that data to more advertisers & third-party websites.
-#Purposefully decreasing the quality of some products to save money and/or to encourage consumers to buy newer & more powerful items to replace the older ones. (Also known as "[[Planned obsolescence]]")<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jalan |first=Ayush |date=7 Jun 2023 |title=What Is Planned Obsolescence? How Brands Keep You Buying |url=https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-planned-obsolescence/ |website=makeuseof}}</ref>
+#Purposefully decreasing the quality of some products to save money and/or to encourage consumers to buy newer & more powerful items to replace the older ones. (Also known as "[[Planned obsolescence]]")
 #Decreasing the average wages of some or all types of employees.
 #Retroactively restricting access to features on items that you've already bought/paid for to push you into giving more money to use previously freely accessible features (more commonly known as a "Paywall" or "Digital lock").
 #Decreasing the sizes of products while keeping the prices the same(Also known as "Shrinkflation", and It's more common in supermarkets & retail stores).
-#Implementation of [[False advertising]] or [[Bait-and-switch]] tactics in a company's commercials to bring in more customers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 Jan 2025 |title=Spotting Predatory Business Tactics: A Consumer's Guide to Self-Defense |url=https://keepm.granitlabs.com/blog/predatory-tactics |access-date= |website=keepm}}</ref>
+#Implementation of [[False advertising]] or [[Bait-and-switch]] tactics in a company's commercials to bring in more customers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calhoun |first=George |date=14 Nov 2024 |title=Is Price Gouging Real? Who’s Doing It? Is It Driving Inflation? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgecalhoun/2024/11/14/is-price-gouging-real-whos-doing-it-is-it-driving-inflation/ |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jalan |first=Ayush |date=7 Jun 2023 |title=What Is Planned Obsolescence? How Brands Keep You Buying |url=https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-planned-obsolescence/ |website=makeuseof}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=11 Jan 2025 |title=Spotting Predatory Business Tactics: A Consumer's Guide to Self-Defense |url=https://keepm.granitlabs.com/blog/predatory-tactics |access-date= |website=keepm}}</ref>
 ==See also==