Every hospital fee is a junk fee. We shouldn’t be paying for hospital visits except out of taxes.
I could be wrong, but, that feels like a weak position to run on. I’m not sure I want the government worrying about the unexpected fee at the hotel I cannot afford to go to.
Isn’t there a way to spend the money you’re going to spend on that to spend it on like food availability, or affordable housing, or education…?
Idk. Seems like a waste of resources but, I suppose they probably have a massive team figuring out what the country is worried about. Just seems like a weird thing to underline, it feels like a back burner issue.
It isn’t spicy but junk fees are a big deal when it comes to fleecing the American people. Adding a take out fee at a restaurant for example, I have a fee to get my own food?
Yeah, I can definitely see it. Idk, at that point, a lot of places are just going to increase prices I would imagine. Again, could be wrong. But, there is definitely merit behind going after it, especially after your reply and the other I got. I suppose I didn’t think through to the entire scope.
Though, if it is bipartisan, and basically an easy win… why not just do it? I hate politics lol.
It’s not really bipartisan. They call things “bipartisan” now because there’s a handful of Republicans who are willing to come to the negotiating table and extort pork or deregulation for your goals, and it doesn’t cross the filibuster-proof majority in order to pass in a Republican house. The majority of Republicans are going to default to opposing any kind of consumer protection legislation just because their fundamental ideology favors large corporations cheating individuals and families repeatedly.
Why do you think every American gets 15 robocalls per day and the government refuses to do anything about it? Republicans are getting their kickback from the robocallers.
That’s the point. It’s shifting from gotcha pricing to transparent pricing.
I work in a business that owns a hundred restaurants or so, we charge a to-go fee of a couple dollars since our restaurants are there to keep you at the property, not really to make money themselves. If this becomes illegal then we’ll just raise prices to make the difference, this won’t make things cheaper, just less sneaky.
The point is that they should not be sneaky. Raise your prices so people know what the actual cost is. That is the point of the law. People want to shop for the best rate but these fees hide a lot of the cost. Once passed all prices will reflect the final cost, taxes included.
I’m confused by what you mean “keep you at the property”.
Obviously the business is there to make money, or it wouldn’t be a business. Servers wages are hardly an overhead concern, I’m saving you the table space for other paying customers, and I’m still paying full price for a product that now cost you less to sell me.
Unless you’re implying that your business sells food at a loss and only makes money on alcohol served on site. Maybe that’s a problem by itself, but it’s not a problem to foist on the customer by charing more for a to go order, that’s absurd.
I work at a casino, we only have restaurants so you eat there and go back to gambling
Why would I ever order take out from a restaurant inside a casino?
We’re getting farther from sense here.
You’re kidding right? Just because we’re a casino doesn’t mean the food sucks, plus you can use your reward points for those take out orders. We get tons of take out and door dash orders out of our restaurants despite the fee
Then why offer takeout? Also, who are these people ordering take out from a casino? Regardless, if the food is really just there so you don’t have to go to another place to get it, and their primary business is gambling, I really don’t understand why they’d have to offer takeout as an option anyway? Especially if it costs them money.
I kinda see where you’re coming from but junk fees are really something that affects everyone, especially those near the bottom of society. Stuff like cell phone fees inflating phone prices, online commerce fees making transactions more expensive, credit card/banking fees, overdraft fees a literal tax on being poor, convenience fees because they can, maintenance fees. It all adds up to tens of billions of dollars annually.
Okay, see, this is a much better list than “concert tickets, hotels, and cellphone bills” lmao. Now you can get me to care and see the merit.
Not sure it still should be an underlined campaign promise, but, as stated, it’s bipartisan, everyone hates them. Then you add your reasoning in there too, and I could get behind it.
What’s going to stop the companies from just rolling that convenience fee into the price of the service though?
The fact that if they’re not baiting and switching people, folks might actually be able to shop around for the best listed price rather than getting swindled by the “cheapest” up front. Particularly for poorer people, surprise fees can really hurt your ability to treat yourself once in a while and still meet your financial goals.
Thats part of the point, It makes the upfront pricing more visible. Clear, easy to understand information means better purchasing decisions are made by consumers.
It’s a lot harder to sell a $1500 phone than it is to sell a $1000 phone with $500 in extra fees tacked on at the time of purchase.
There’s nothing wrong with that, because it’s the advertised price. It’s unethical to say that something costs $1 and then charge them $2.
Then at least you could compare the true cost of things up front
It is possible to work on multiple issues of varying importance at the same time
I didn’t say it wasn’t. I said it’s a weird issue to underline and run a campaign on.
“Small” inconveniences like this (among other things) are how asshole capitalists win. They nickle and dime us in ways that aren’t “worth” pushing back against. We tell ourselves “It’s just a little bit extra. Not worth pushing back just for that.”, but there are countless little bit extras and they drain us without resistance. And it’s not like individuals are going to be able to change any of that, so it’s entirely up to our governments to address those issues. Of course there are big things to work on too, but fixing some things doesn’t mean we can’t work on the big things too.
How many resources do you think it takes to ban junk fees?
Because it’s nowhere comparable to the cost of any of your alternatives
Well if it’s such an easy win, why not just do it? Why campaign on it. He’s already in office lol. I hate politics.
I wish we had out the door final cost pricing required on everything. Roll in taxes, fees, tips, shipping, everything into 1 price and I can decide if I want or do not want to pay that.
That is what they are aiming to do.
That’s fine, but protecting abortion has proven to be a far greater motivator in the Democrats’ favor
Protecting individual rights, including family planning, is a huge motivator. Americans deserve the right to life, liberty, and the presuit of happiness. The GOP runs counter to that ideal.
“please remit your payment online” then they charge an online payment fee.
That comment will be $3.99, and thanks!
Want to know what’s a winning issue? legalization of Marijuana. Need joe to get away from his old ways of thinking on this and to push forward this issue with overwhelming bipartisan support.
He could also overturn Qualified Immunity with an executive order that can’t be overturned, simply by stating that we will be following the full text of section 1983 as was voted into law in 1871 by Congress, not as was illegally modified by a single southern revisionist in 1874.
Going down in history as the most anti-corruption president would also win him the election.
That would be great, but I don’t know that qualified immunity is a big vote-getter.
Legalizing weed? Huge vote-getter.
Having a rash of corrupt cops immediately facing charges is the vote getter
Getting rid of student loans also comes to mind
Remember back when you could solve issues without it needing to be an election year? Me either.
Fun Fact. Every year is an election year. Also Fun Fact. He hasn’t been sitting on his ass for the last three years, he’s been pushing legislation all the time. How you or the news wants to phrase things doesn’t change that.
In those three years of pushing legislation why didn’t they tackle this “winning” issue? If I were elected I would assume I only have four years and do all I can in that time and not hold an issue hostage for re-election, but I’m not a politician.
When you’re actually doing your job, you can’t change everything overnight. He has a ton on his plate, and hasn’t had a legislative mandate to pass whatever the party wants. They never had a liberal majority in the Senate, they have to deal with two senators who don’t agree with everything they want.
Wouldn’t the correct response be to hold a press conference or post something on social media to communicate something vital like that to the people? “Here’s what’s going on, here’s what we propose, and here’s what we we think should happen next. Make up your mind and reach out to your senator, we’ve provided a list of contact information here.” Seems reasonable right? Yet almost no politician does this and instead we hyperfocus on controversial issues, kinda seems intended almost as if there’s an agenda being followed to me. So yes, I criticize and expect better from elected officials, if someone offers evidence to the contrary I’ll change my mind but I haven’t seen any evidence to the contrary that the man’s really representing me and I’d appreciate a ranked choice voting so we aren’t limited to two parties with a single option.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/
Every weekday they cover various topics. There’s a lot to do.
I wish the US Government had their shit together enough where this should be their top concern.
As I said to someone else, this isn’t the biggest deal in the world. It is likely just an easy win. It would be fantastic to look at a restaurant menu and know what I’m spending, look through air bnbs and be able to actually compare based on price, or know how much a concert ticket will cost before getting excited for the concert.
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good but don’t stop striving for perfect either.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats are teaming up with the Biden administration and a progressive advocacy group to turn policy efforts to curb “ junk fees ” into a political rallying cry, betting that a small but potentially potent kitchen table issue will resonate with voters.
President Joe Biden promised in this year’s State of the Union address to target unexpected fees tacked on to things like plane and concert tickets, hotel rooms, hospital and cellphone bills and housing transactions.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin a swing-district Michigan Democrat who is now running for the Senate, is planning an event in a few weeks and said “the administration’s initiative to eliminate junk fees will put money back in peoples’ pockets.”
But it may also help Biden bridge the gap between an economy that many metrics show is strong — with low unemployment rates and wages rising — and polling suggesting that many Americans don’t view that as a positive for Democrats.
“Fighting surprise junk fees is super popular and bipartisan with the public because everyone hates these abusive extra costs,” said Adam Green, the Progressive Change Institute co-founder.
“Dumpster fires polled better with the American people than Bidenomics, so extreme Democrats threw it in the garbage to talk about ‘junk fees’ because they know Biden’s economy is trash,” quipped Will Reinert, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOP’s House campaign arm.
I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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Good, you should be able to see the true cost of things up front. You shouldn’t have to run through a whole checkout process to see the true cost either (looking at you Ticketbastard). Colleges should have to roll “mandatory fees” into their tuition costs too.
The problem with doing this as the incumbent is that if it’s broadly popular, it’ll just pass, and if it is only popular on your side of the aisle, it won’t help you much.
The swing voters will say “yes it is a problem, why haven’t you fixed it?”
The answer has to be the other party. Are Republicans against this? What is the argument against?
If they’re going to include taxes and fees in the price of goods, won’t that raise their advertised price and therefore appear to increase inflation, driving away voters? I like this legislation but I don’t know if it’s a good idea to pass it?
If they’re going to include taxes and fees in the price of goods, won’t that raise their advertised price and therefore appear to increase inflation, driving away voters?
I’m sorry, but are Americans really that dumb? Everyone else in the developed world can handle the actual price being displayed.
Sadly we are yes
the dnc is a party of fucking idiots if they think that’s what people are clambering for.
While it’s great they are taking this issue on, it’s on the bottom of my fucken totem pole when it comes to issues that need addressing. What about more action on climate change? No? Ok, then what about steps to stop institutional racism? No? Fine then! Let’s crack down on the housing crisis! Again no? The democrat lidership is so fucking disconnected to reality it’s no surprise we lost the house and congress.
Current Top Political Issues in the United States for 2024
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Inflation
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Affordability of Health Care
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Bipartisonship in Government
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Drug Addiction
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Gun Violence
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Federal Budget Deficit
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State of Moral Values
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Immigration
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K-12 Education
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Climate Change
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Racism
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Infrastructure
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Domestic Terrorism
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International Terrorism
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Unemployment
While you are focused on the tenth-ranked topic, the Biden Administration is focused on the first.
Politicians are the servants of the people, you need to convince the people to get your issue higher up.
Do you work for the Biden Administration? Nothing you write seems organic at all.
I must be a robot taking over the Fediverse. Take me to your leader. Beep Bop! 🤣
Seriously though, I follow politics quite closely and knowing the research polling is essential to knowing what to expect in the debates.
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They both rhyme, so curbing junk fees is practically the same thing, right? /s
