License to lie and steal

Corruption in business and government is becoming so widespread that we no longer recognize it when we see it. Our younger generation has become so jaded by what they've seen growing up, that my generation and theirs will probably disagree about what are acceptable and ethical practices. This past week, I experienced two major communications companies either lying to me or stealing from me. But what is worse, both companies are granted licenses from federal, state and/or local governments to operate as they do. For the amount of taxes we all pay for communications services, I expect government to be protecting me from fraudulent practices, not granting licenses to lie and steal.

In the first instance, I went shopping for TV services. The supplier was offering promotions on three levels of service. Each level of service offered a different number and mix of channels. Now, when I go shopping for a car, I've come to expect that when I pay the advertised price, I can actually drive away in the car. That seems reasonable to me. But with TV service, I can only watch the channels for the advertised price on the lowest level of service. For the middle and highest levels of service, I can't actually see the channels for the advertised price. I have to pay more every month for additional hardware. That's like advertising a car without an engine! Why is that allowed, legal, truthful or ethical? When I told the salesperson that I thought it was a misleading advertisement, his reply was; "aren't they all?"

In the second instance, I read over my cell phone bill to see that a new $30 per month charge was to be paid for all smartphone users to cover the excess usage of internet surfing. I have had a Treo smartphone for at least 8 years. I pay full retail price for my phones from a third party so the phone company has no discount to amortize over my bill. I have never sent a text message or used my phone to access the internet. I use it to make phone calls, carry information on 2500 contacts, update documents and spreadsheets, and run a myriad of other software programs that I've accumulated over the years. How is it that a phone company can arbitrarily charge a fee for a service that I don't use? Apparently the regulating bodies are ok with this too. Is this ethical? I think it stealing.

In reading over the various e-magazines and blogs that I receive each month, I found another editor also complaining about the ethics of the new internet world. Would we as packagers or packaging machine suppliers be able to get away with false advertising and charging for services not used? If anyone sees a machine at PackExpo that doesn't actually "package" for the price paid or a service that one must buy even though the customer doesn't use it, let us all know. I hope that none are found.

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Comments I agree totally. Posted by: Ranjit de Silva on September 29, 2009 Keith: You are correct. I hit fraud and scams everywhere I turn. The last was an offer for a free service to check credit reports. An automatic payment is posted with some lame excuse as to why after 2 hours in a phone loop, there is a fee charged for a free service. No one has time for this. We need an oversight committee that fines these scams! Posted by: julia wrapp on September 29, 2009 Kudos. Just perfect! Posted by: Jorge Romero on September 29, 2009 Keith, Thanks for your comments on the ethics of our current economic situation and generation. I am a young executive having to deal with older men in other industries set bad examples for my generation just for their own personal gain. I am glad I work for a family owned company that is driven clearly by a "firm line in the sand" set of mission and core values that drive us. I can get passionate about leading people who have the same mindset to give back rather than how much can I get out of this mentality. Thanks again for sharing your view on this important topic. Posted by: Jason M. Sterner on September 29, 2009 Interested in your comments regarding the packaging industry./ Posted by: Bill Trapp on September 29, 2009 Keith, what people today have lost is the natural true attributes of philosophical philosophy of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. Truth never changes. The last couple of generations of "enlightened people" have been inundated with the corrupt philosophy of Immanuel Kant (every university worships him on the altar of modern man) that has infected all of modern society. This has resulted in the concept of change or constant evolution and a table is not a table. It is what I think it is. It is my image of it. Therefore ethics are what I think or imagine it is - period. My conscience inhibits me. Hegel and Marx were heavily inflenced by Kant. Need I say more. Any other age, including the so called "dark ages" would consider such thinking as insanity or demonic. We act based on our thinking or our indoctrination. If our thinking is faulty or even fails to use reason, our life will be faulty and our society will implode. So now you know why ethics has thousands of interpetions and will continue to evolve downward in the future and why politicians never consider that they ever lie or steal. Posted by: Paul Zepf on September 29, 2009 Post a comment (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) Name: Email Address: URL: Remember personal info? Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style) Type the word 'packaging' (required):