Graphic Source: Me

Wow, there are so many things that THEY don't want us to know, that I don't know where to start. Well maybe I do. Lets talk about those extended warranties. Did you know that most of the time they don't ever pay for themselves. Yeah I know, there is always someone that was happy that they got one, but if we are playing the odds, it just doesn't pay. The amount of premiums that they wanted for an extended warranty on my gas dryer added up to what I could buy a new dryer for in 5 years. Most of these types of dryers are trouble free for at least that long and remember, you usually get a one year warranty with the machine. Looking at health insurance, we notice something that we never realized before. Sometimes the insurer has decided that it is cheaper to let you die and therefore will deny permission for certain life saving procedures. Hey you are only a number to most of them. During Congressional hearings a representative of a health insurance company testified before Congress that she stopped a man from getting an expensive procedure that probably would have saved his live and therefore saved the company a half million dollars. Here is something that I was told, but I would verity it before doing it. I have been told that if you notify collection agencies in writing to stop contacting you, under federal law they must do so except to notify you of the fact that they are not going to try and collect anymore or that a lawsuit is being filed against you.

Food companies don't want you to know that certain ingredients that are formed in the food process are not listed on the label. Some can be things that are suspected of being cancer causing such as acrylamides. Residues of things like solvents may be present along with residues of pesticides. All is not what it seems. Where is the FDA when you need it? It is still letting us down. Some say that the recent outbreak of ADHD in children is caused by artificial coloring and refined carbohydrates and back this up with test results that show that about 80% of children with ADHD that are taken off processed foods are cured in a couple of weeks. Some grocery stores allow food manufacturers to buy shelf space to position their products in the best places for quick sales. Stores have found that if they play music and increase the tempo, you will buy more. The same goes for smell. Tests have shown that the smell of vanilla or lavender keeps people in the store longer, increasing their chances to buy. There is also a subconscious factor to pricing. Researchers have found that if you put a 9 on the end of a price, people think that they are getting a bargain. That is why you see so many items that are sold with a .99 cents on the end, such as 1.99, 2.99 and so on.

The average American is now carrying about $9,000 of debt. This is personal debt that we are talking about. In 2006 the average household debt was 1/3 rd more than the average income, ouch! Get sick and you loose everything. Why haven't we heard more about this? Many credit card companies now have a Universal Default Clause, it states that if you are late with a payment to ANY credit card you own, not just theirs, you will be charged a late fee and most likely have your rate raised. This is legal folks, the government is allowing this to happen. But there is more, if you make a late payment on other loans it can happen too. Your interest might shoot up to as high as 30%. About 40% of all credit card companies are using this clause now. But wait again, it even applies to your phone bill. Drop that card folks, it is nothing but a trap. They can even increase your rate for getting a NEW CREDIT CARD.

One thing that companies don't want you to know is that sometimes the economy shipping is much faster than the super fast shipping that costs a lot more. I can tell you this from experience, I have purchased several items from a famous internet company and gotten free shipping and the items arrived in a couple of days. I have done the same with other companies and one item was a large tv. Hey you shouldn't be in such a hurry anyway. When you order a 20 ounce Caffe Mocha with whipped cream it has 490 calories, the same as a stick of butter. A frappuccino with whipped cream has 650 calories. Both are loaded with saturated fat. Alberta, Canada is where we import our Canadian beef from. They have had 5 cases of mad cow disease there since 2003. The FDA has approved spraying viruses on deli meats to kill bacteria. Ugh! Bed and Breakfast sites have no government oversight since they are not classified as hotels.

In many areas school boards do not give teachers enough training in the curriculum that they are going to teach. Many teachers feel vulnerable to law suits if they discipline children. The fillings in your teeth may be leaking toxic waste into you blood stream yet many dentists will not remove them because of fear of contamination. Those old metal fillings can leak over 4 times the amount of mercury vapor that the average person gets from natural means every day. If the old fillings are taken out, in an unskillful way, your system can be flooded with mercury. Dental care has risen over twice the rate of inflation. Some churches are taking half of all donations given to foreign missions for their own use, unbeknown to most of their parishioners, who think that their money is all going to those poor churches overseas. Buying treasure coins can be risky, the dealers don't want you to know that they are a risky investment. You will often find the words Shipwreck Effect instead of the grade on the packaging, because these coins are damaged and are only valuable because of where they came from. They often drop in value.

Banks don't want you to know about some of their practices such as interest backdating. Some banks charge you interest from the date of purchase on your bank card, not the date the charge is received. If you have a bank account and a credit card from the same bank, they can take funds from the account, if you are late or miss a payment. The media is almost a monopoly and is controlled by only a few companies. These companies spent, you better sit down, over 615 billion dollars to lobby in Washington from 2000 to 2005. Oil and gas companies spent $279 million in the same period. Since 1975 over 2/3rds of the independent operators and owners have disappeared from the media scene. The media companies now control over 98% of the internet and have successfully stopped many towns and cities from providing free internet service, causing the U.S. to drop to 16th in broadband. Thanks guys.

Well I guess that this is enough to digest for now. I bet you never knew there was so much being hidden from us by so many different people, companies and agencies. If you think that this is a lot, we have really only scratched the surface of secrecy.