The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use "Plain English" to Rob You Blind

by David Cay Johnston

“No other modern country gives corporations the unfettered power found in America to gouge cus­tomers, shortchange workers, and erect barriers to fair play. A big reason is that so little of the news . . . addresses the private, government-approved mechanisms by which price gouging is employed to redistribute income upward.” You are being systematically exploited by powerful corporations every day. These companies squeeze their trusting customers for every last cent, risk their retirement funds, and endanger their lives. And they do it all legally. How? It’s all in the fine print. David Cay Johnston, the bestselling author of Per­fectly Legal and Free Lunch , is famous for exposing the perfidies of our biggest institutions. Now he turns his attention to the ways huge corporations hide sneaky stipulations in just about every contract, often with government permission. Johnston has been known to whip out a utility bill and explain line by line what all that mumbo jumbo actually means (and it doesn’t mean anything good, unless you happen to be the utility company). Within all that jargon, disclosed in accordance with all legal requirements, lie the tools these companies use to rob you blind. Even worse is what’s missing—all the contractually binding clauses that companies hide elsewhere yet still enforce and abuse. Consider, for example, Johnston shares solutions you can use to fight back against the hundreds of obscure fees and taxes that line the pockets of big corporations, and to help end these devious practices once and for all.

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, Politics, Business, History, Finance, Society

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

David Cay Boyle Johnston (born December 24, 1948) is an American investigative journalist and author, a specialist in economics and tax issues, and winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting.

From 2009 to 2016 he was a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer who taught the tax, property, and regulatory law of the ancient world at Syracuse University College of Law and the Whitman School of Management. From July 2011 until September 2012 he was a columnist for Reuters, writing, and producing video commentaries, on worldwide issues of tax, accounting, economics, public finance and business. Johnston is the board president of Investigative Reporters and Editors. He has also written for Al Jazeera English and America in recent years.

Reviews

[Nancy Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just heard the author on Fresh Air. I am afraid if I read it, my head may explode:-(

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sobering, enlightening, and an infuriating read. Our motto should be "In Greed We Trust." This book showcases the total breakdown and systematic dismantling of basic fundamentals in law and business which have served civilization and capitalism well. Our total way of life has been fundamentally changed by corporations which have bought our courts and legislators. Johnston gives examples of many industries from cable to railroads to utilities and income tax. Thanks to greed we are quickly becoming a Third World nation. He offers a blueprint for change in the last chapter but I'm not so optimistic. This book will motivate you to start a revolution or emigrate to Canada.

[Jessica Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A excellent review of many areas of our economy where the average consumer and citizen is being gouged with invisible fees, 'taxes' that are directly funneled as corporate profits, along with the multiple webs of subsidies and tax breaks that only benefit the wealthy and the structure of monopolies and oligarchies. This book WILL MAKE YOU ANGRY. It is hard to read this, especially as I did, just before bed every night - because every chapter details the injustices that have become embedded in our economy. But it is immensely informative about many aspects of our economy that most people, including myself, are largely ignorant of and that is largely overlooked by the media. I highly recommend this book, but is it an ENJOYABLE read? Not so much. The structure of the chapters is choppy and the writing oftentimes a chore to read. It is informative and inspiring, and what I appreciated the most: The last chapter full of REALISTIC SOLUTIONS to the problems described.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the subtitle is inaccurate and misleading. The Fine Print is not about the fine print as we commonly think of it, it's about the partnership between government and big business to put more and more of the tax burden on the average tax payer, gouge the customer, put less and less of the burden on business, reward big business with greater profits which pays off in bigger campaign donations, and provide ever fewer and fewer government services for the taxpayer. It's a book all taxpayers should read and then present a copy to their Congressional people with the instructions "there will be a pop quiz in a week."

[A Mulford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. Frankly, I've long known for a long time that big business (corporations) use gov't to get favorable legislation and rules to make it easier for them to do business and make money. After all, those lobbyist aren't getting paid just to create some kind of nebulous "better business climate." Those campaign contributions come with the expectation of specific favors in mind. So, I appreciate the specifics since most, but not all, of what was in the book, I was previously unaware.

With that said, I had a few problems with the book. The first thing is that the beginning of the book was all lover the map. The author kept changing the focus of the narrative so often that it was difficult to follow where he was trying to go. It's as if he was trying to impart too much information all at once and kept changing the subject.

Secondly, it seems as if sometimes Johnston left out information that would have helped better flesh out his points. For example, I would have liked to have had more information about the 19th century case (Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific RR) which established corporations as legal persons by applying Constitutional protects to corporations as well as natural person through the use of the 14th Amendment.

Additionally, sometimes the author made statements of belief (as opposed to fact) that weren't adequately supported by what was included in the text of the book. For example, on page 85, Johnston states in the second paragraph that an article in the Times-Picayune referring to Entergy Corporation as New Orleans' only Fortune 500 company made it clear that there was a journalistic tilt toward the rich and powerful rather than to their readers. Really? Based on what was written in the book, I don't see that at all. If Entergy was NO's only Fortune 500 company, that's a statement of fact. And unless something else was included in their article which was not mentioned in the book, I don't see any slant or favoritism at all in that statement. Unfortunately, this and other claims (like the one on page 97 where Johnston claims that a PUC commission "put off the vote" rather than hear citizens' concerns or complaints) were not supported by the evidence presented within the book. Alas, this tendency tends to make Johnston himself appear to be slanted or engaged in favoritism against the corporations which are the focus of his book. I would only suggest that Johnston offer better supporting evidence for his claims within the book or at least openly state that at certain points he's offering an opinion as opposed to implying that he's reached factual conclusion.

But all things considered, the facts presented in the book make it clear that average people are unknowingly and unwittingly paying higher fees to corporations because corporations are using the gov't to codify higher fees than market competition would otherwise allow.

[Eric Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I try to balance my reading by including works of both freedom and liberty and also leftists.

Johnston is clearly no Ayn Rand and is about as pro-state as an otherwise functional fellow could be.

Whereas the author basically lays blame on "capitalism" for what is really statism in every example provided... I still enjoy the excellent research in calling out the criminals that rob us all blind at major monopoly utilities like PG&E (with the help of cozy relationships with the State). It was also nice that he was kind to include a passing mention to the fact that the woman who died with her daughter at the very epicenter of the San Bruno fire just happened to be tasking PG&E on phony numbers and what amounts to a billion dollars of fraud. Would have been really sweet if he dug a bit deeper on that.

Very much recommend to both my leftward and clear minded friends... and whereas the incorrect conclusions drawn by David can be ignored... the information is eye-opening and valuable to everyone who can make the investment in following him on the journey of discovery.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Cay Johnston does it again. Great book. I knew we were being raped: this book provides some of the details on exactly how.

[Andrew Skretvedt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a true review, just some comments. I incorporate by reference, the review by Eric Hanson, whose opinion of this book I adopt as the more succinct expression of what follows here.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Here are some videos that help me make the case for opinions I give further into my comments, where I think the author is getting it wrong. They're long, so I set them out now in case you don't come back (you don't really need to come back, the videos speak for themselves).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2_dPL...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwfXGK...

This book's title is a bit incongruous compared with its subject, and I was quite perplexed at what I found inside. The title and subtitle suggested to me a book focused on consumer affairs. I expected to read about terms and conditions and contracts and various service agreements and see some sort of dissection for discussion of all those documents that you may have signed or clicked past without reading. I was actually excited for this, because I expected to learn a little home-economics that would help me better defend my pocketbook when dealing with companies. The Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data even promoted this impression, listing as its initial subject heading, "1. Invoices." But, that's not at all what this book was about. (In fact, with one small exception, you won't read one thing in this book about the fine print on invoices.)

David Cay Johnston could perhaps benefit from some lessons from the Austrian school of economics, a tradition of economic reasoning that is generally both anti-state as well as pro-free market. Johnston framed his economic analysis in terms of the Chicago school tradition, which is also regarded as being pro-free market, but has other state control problems which he discusses. Unfortunately that discussion is framed into a false choice where you either take the Chicago way and have your "free" markets, but with all this inevitably dehumanizing and corrupt corporatism, or you adopt his way: a sort of typical liberal-progressive approach which gives you a government-"managed" begrudging capitalism where markets are allowed to take their course only so long as the results are in-line with the managers' expectations (and everything else is called "market failure"). Somehow that structure is expected to still produce plenty of material goods for prices inexpensive.

The book frequently reads too much like an op-ed. piece. The anecdotes do make for exciting reading, but leave the case mostly unproven for how systemic and widely entrenched the bad behavior he is detailing is common corporate practice. The cynic in me is inclined to say, "C'mon...you know this is how it is." But, feeling convinced is not the same as proving a claim. Yet, I acknowledge this would be a very different and likely dull book if Johnston took that tack.

Still, he chose not to cite sources by superscripts and footnotes, which give immediate reference to explicit sources in the exact locations where they're cited, instead using the less precise page note format, which makes fact and context checking of his sources far more tedious and even error prone. Further, he also makes note on the first page of the notes section that interested readers should email him for a more complete sourcing of the work. Or, they can check his website where he pledged to provide this material in a section devoted to the book's sourcing.

I did check his website. It's quite sparse and there exists no such sourcing section, three years on from the book's printing in 2012.

So that leaves just the option of contacting him directly. Well, okay. I confess I'm not going to do that, but such as we have them in the book, the way the sources have been set leaves open greater opportunity for the material to be mischaracterized, even innocently. This makes it more difficult, needlessly in my opinion, for readers who are motivated, to check up on the author's work and make their own judgement of the facts presented and conclusions drawn.

Now, to mention some subjects at the heart of parts of this book namely, monopoly and regulation in the context of markets and competition. If you watched the videos, linked above, then you know about were I stand.

So I think Johnston's thinking is muddled in these areas, and the heart of the issue becomes how does one separate real capitalism from crony-capitalism. How do you best prevent crony-capitalism, and what do you do when you uncover it?

Johnston tends mostly to double down on government control and management. This demands that government is good at identifying and correcting its own flaws, that corrupt institutions can cleanse themselves easily, or that oversight bodies are incorruptible. I argue (actually, I wager, argument is too much for this review and requires more effort than I am willing to make here) that paradoxically, government control and management of markets and their participants has consolidated power in unhealthy ways and actually generated opportunities, to construct mechanisms that cronyists now exploit, to give us the very horrible situation upon which now Johnston comments and exposes in the book.

Historical analysis shows that pretty much without exception, monopolies require the abetting of government structures to persist, and the situation with rate-regulated utilities which Johnston rightly takes to task as a major theme in the book, were one entirely constructed out of government policy. It made industry's job easier, by gathering the power to be corrupted into concentrated units, rather than being more naturally diffuse and expensive to subdue or co-opt.

The arguments supporting the phenomenon of natural monopolies, their inherent tendency to work against consumer interest, and the mechanisms of law meant to hold them in check are probably false in my opinion, though they do appeal to a populist spirit.

I've come to the view that, in general, cartels, monopolies and oligopolies are inherently unstable. Contrary to the narrative where they spring up like weeds if not carefully watched, I think they require government protection to exist and persist. A monopoly could in principle arise naturally, but it wouldn't persist long unless innovation and technical and scientific progress were halted. If one does start to rise, and while it lasts, it is probably closer to having the most efficient means of producing its product or service than any other structure imposed by force (and not voluntary entrepreneurial action) from outside.

If you look carefully under the covers of any such organization: monopoly, oligopoly, cartel, I challenge that you'll always find government power acting to hold it together, and that absent such power, there is no clear reason the organization would've formed naturally or persisted; those getting started soon naturally re-dissolving or splintering into competing factions.

All the above notwithstanding, we can still take the anecdotes within Johnston's book at face value, and be righteously indignant about their occurrence. I do take the cynical view that this sort of behavior is more likely to be the norm than not, because I believe we are increasingly living in cronyist corporate America.

While we are right to demand justice in cases like those the book cites, we'll probably need to look beyond the ideas of this book if we want to strike at the root of why we find that such situations developed and have ways to mitigate and prevent them.

I believe the solution lies in a much more constrained role for government, not as a regulator with power to grant special privilege (or any privilege), but as a simple referee, hearing complaints when market participants cry foul in their business dealings. Not simply punishing entities who commit a fraud (with fines that generally accrue to the treasury and do nothing to make right the defrauded), but commanding those entities to restore the defrauded. The core would be simply the notion, "no force or fraud."

[Todd Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sight of an America in which there is visible no higher social goal than the self-enrichment of the individual, and where that self-enrichment takes place primarily in material goods and gadgets that are of doubtful utility in the achievement of the deeper satisfactions of life—this sight fails to inspire either confidence or enthusiasm.
- Diplomat-turned historian George Kennan

The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use "Plain English" to Rob You Blind covers the sneaky ways companies take advantage of regulations and laws to enrich themselves at the public’s expense.

This is what fancy-pants economists refer to as “rent-seeking”, which is defined as the efforts of a company to achieve economic gain from others without reciprocating any benefits to society through wealth creation. In other words, it’s a way to make more money without actually doing anything productive. This is done by making changes to regulations that advantage one special interest over another. Which, of course, is why there are more lobbyists on capitol hill than congressional staffers and why corporations spend many millions of dollars every year to lobby lawmakers. A change to the tax code here, a loosening of a regulation there, a promise of a lucrative job for a congressman after leaving office if he’d just shepherd a bill through the legislative process (which just so happened to also have been written by the lobbyist) can all result in billions of additional profit all without producing anything of economic value. Which is great because let’s face it … producing stuff is hard work … and corporate executives are probably exhausted after a late night counting their piles of money … and also, work is for suckers who lack friends in high places.

Guess what? It works … though sadly for you, their success comes at your expense. When a company receives an unearned tax break private citizens need to make up the difference or go without government services. Relaxation of pollution regulations results in a lower standard of living and higher health care costs for the community. When a business receives monopoly control of an industrial sector prices inevitably rise due to a lack of competition.

David Cay Johnston, who has been writing about economics for the New York Times for many years, documents many other examples relating to: railroad shipping, electric utilities, fuel and natural gas distribution, internet, cable and telephone providers, and others. What he finds, which may not come as much of a surprise since he gives the conclusion away in the subtitle, is that big companies are profiting in ways they don’t deserve and we are all paying for it.

It should be noted that the book was published in 2012 in the middle of the Obama administration and that democrats did little to nothing to address the issue, despite having an unprecedented opportunity to do so in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse. This is probably the only issue upon which both parties can agree, given that they are both corporatist shills.

What’s to be done? Well … the deck is stacked against you. Big companies employ armies of experts to comb through the legal code to find small changes that can benefit their paymasters. You have your weekend. You might try to use it in an attempt to figure out what your legislature is up to. But the reality is that the views of private citizens don’t count for squat when compared with a suitcase full of campaign cash. In other words, democracy is dead … long live the plutocracy.

Thus the only real solution is to get money out of politics to the extent possible (public financing of elections would be a good start). Add to this an end to gerrymandering, a prohibition against politicians serving as lobbyists, and the adoption of instant-runoff voting to make elections more competitive. Unfortunately the situation is such that the very people who benefit from our corrupt system are the only ones who can change it … so I wouldn’t hold my breath.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is more than just how "big" companies are you, it's a virtual panoply of the con job that's happening all around you, most of which is hidden or obscured from your awareness.

I'm pro-business. I'm pro-free-market. I'm pro "capitalist" and anti-statist. Yet, I'm giving the book 4 stars because what's in this book is not mutually exclusive with freedom. Actually, the book outlines many ways in which corporatism is usurping liberty from you, economic and otherwise.

The author is certainly leftist, but his viewpoints are of little relevance to the book. What's relevant is gaining the knowledge and understanding of what's taking place before your eyes, and then doing something about it (adjusting your behavior, becoming active in reform, etc).

A few of the author's suggestions at the end were not thought out or if they were are completely inept at solving the major issues outlined in the book. I'll give one small example. Of all the egregious cons put onto the US public by the banking industry, one of the recommendations the author posits is for the reserve rate to be increased to 10%. This solution is sadly laughable, and ignores the ramifications of the reserve system itself (which the author would certainly detest if he understood them). This isn't to say that the author doesn't have good ideas; he does. Along the same lines in the banking industry, he advocates for secondary and tertiary market prohibition for loans. It's not a bad idea, even if it wasn't all thought out, because the idea can serve as a starting point to solving the issues.

The book is certainly worth your time assuming you're interested in: corporatism, business, government, or consumer rights.

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone’s familiar with the ubiquitous “fine print”, the disclosure of the full terms and conditions of a contract or agreement. But does it really explain what the consumer is signing up for? David Cay Johnston’s The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use “Plain English” To Rob You Blind assesses many common agreements and contracts and discovers that the “fine print” is not always what it appears to be.

Johnston explains how the deceptively simple phone bill actually includes many hidden fees that consumers don’t know exist. He also explains why internet in the U.S. is simultaneously expensive yet inferior in quality, as well as the reasons so much U.S. infrastructure is deteriorating. The most damming parts of the book may be how tax incentives rarely result in increased employment or the unfairness in binding arbitration.

Though strident in places, Johnston’s book was on the whole an informative and worthwhile read about the true nature of the U.S. tax structure and fine print, which few people comprehend. As appalling as many of these case-studies were, Johnston did offer some solutions at the end of this book, which provides a glimmer of hope that the status quo can be transformed into competitive markets and a better balance of power between the consumer and major companies.

[Charles Selden · Rating 5 out of 5]

If our elected representatives need evidence of abuse of consumers by corporations, David Cay Johnston's latest work will supply them. Johnston has won a Pulitzer for his past reporting for The New York Times. (His earlier books are Free Lunch and Perfectly Legal.)

Each of the first 23 chapters detail how large industries--like railroads, pharmas, banks, insurers, utilities--have surreptitiously arranged laws, regulations and judicial outcomes to game the system to protect and reward corporations. Chapters are essentially stand-alones, so they need not be read in sequence to get the point: We consumers are victimized more than we know. Johnston shows how out of balance things are, especially when he details corporate tax breaks and regulatory indifference to consumers. Corporations have the best government we can buy.

His last two chapters offer proposed solutions. Unfortunately, compared to the rest of the book, they are a let down. Before any significant change will move the president and congress to take the side of consumers against corporate abusers, consumer anger needs to be ignited as a real threat of real voter action. How that might happen could be the perfect "next book" by Johnston.

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most informative book I’ve read in a long while. Johnston shows just how great the power of journalism can be when it is used to hold government and corporations accountable for their abuses. He manages to uncover the sorted backroom deals that allow large corporations to rip consumers off while at the same time paying no taxes or even receiving subsidies from the government in their pursuit of ever more money. His methodical approach of following the money and digging into all those obscure laws passed routinely by politicians allows him to expose the abuses made in every single aspect of our lives, from where we get our electricity, to our pension funds, to tax preparation, to movies. What I also found fascinating is that throughout the book Johnston never adopts a defeatist attitude but rather shows the places where people’s inquiries led to change and improvement. He similarly closes the book by leaving the reader feeling empowered and by instigating for a more engaged public capable of holding their politician’s feet to the fire of inquiry; a public that must begin with the reader if anything is to be done.

[Marie Angell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I generally feel that big companies are robbing me blind and have some notion of the many ways corporations have rigged the system against me. But David Cay Johnston presents powerful details of how its done.

Often I feel that we should complain more, but it's hard when you don't exactly know how you're being screwed, so the book is definitely handy for that (and really, how long does it take to send an email to Congress--not long and it gets faster the more you do it).

Johnston's prose may run a little to the super-detailed at times, but it's lively and, parsing it against what I already knew, it seems pretty accurate.

If you're not entirely up to reading a whole book about things like cellphone fees, cable, etc., Johnston has done some good interviews on C-Span and NPR that are readily accessible.

Highly recommended.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever want to work yourself into an angry frenzy, just read one of David Cay Johnston's books. This is the third book of his that I have read and it was just as interesting as the first two. In this book, he reveals more of the laws, tax loopholes and other "tricks" that major corporations and the uber-wealthy use to enhance their profits and wealth at the expense of the average citizen. In this book, the author takes aim at utility corporations, railroads and drug companies - just to name a few. There is plenty of blame to go around for both Republicans and Democrats (although Republicans definitely take the worst of it). All in all, a great read for anyone wanting to be a better citizen and get a better understanding on how they are getting screwed over by the people they elect.

[Caren · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read this book, a line from "The Music Man' kept popping into my mind: "Make your blood boil? Well, I should say..."
The author details the many ways big money corporations are legally favored and are able to stick it to the little guy in this country. He talks about railroad companies, cable and internet companies (and their monopolies), utility companies, oil and gas pipelines, water companies, banking, "retirement" plans (which he calls 'your 201K'), the perks a CEO receives, pharmaceutical company shenanigans, the movie industry, and even how you file your taxes. Looking at this litany of deceit is pretty depressing. There is so very much to absorb in this one book, I feel I ought to go back and read through it again. He does leave you with some actions that can be taken, but still, I think you will read it and weep. What, oh what have we come to?

[Jon Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine book, providing many well-researched examples of corporate profiteering. It sparks a strong response, but does not rely on sensationalistic claims or unsupported arguments. Very welcome relief in this age of demagogues and rhetoric.

My only complaint about the book was that while the author offered potential actions to address the situations he highlighted, they were only at the policy level. It ends with a call to arms for the readers, but only provides general advice, i.e. vote and join an activist group. It would have been helpful to put some basic list of resources or organizations that might help. Even people with the drive to act will basically be starting at square one with no advice or guidance.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 very good. Lack of transparency and accountability have allowed large companies to use money and power in ways detrimental to the well-being of our country. The details and documenting reports are presented. The book is challenging but worth the struggle; I have been reading and reviewing off and on from the start Oct 31 to the finish of first reading January 2, 2013 and some continued review since.

One major positive factor is the recognition of the unfairness (and even criminal behavior) is rising and a tipping point may be at hand. When the data is available to all then people can make reasonable conclusions and take appropriate actions.

[Jenny Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are all well aware that the rich have been getting richer while the middle class has been continuously shrinking... The Fine Print illustrates exactly how this has happened through the use of policies that have essentially subsidized corporations at the expense of the masses. In fact, I sometimes felt so disillusioned and disgusted with the extent to which our government has failed to act in the interest of the public good in favor of corporate interest >:(! I'll admit, however, that the book is a bit dry (we are talking about taxes and a lot of statistics), but overall it was an informative and good read.

[Patrick Pilz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free markets are an ideal, seldom accomplished. Today, we do not have a lot of market choices, not really. We have only one cable provide, we have only one power company and live in one water district. But this does not stop there, our food supply is controlled along the supply chain by different monopolies or oligopolies. In addition, large corporations can influence legislations to their benefit, and we consumers pay the price.

This book illustrated corporate abuses in the United States, sponsored by government and suggests some remedies. Even though old, the book illustrates the facts well, and suggests some remedies, we may never achieve in this country.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting expose into the world of corporate welfare and how large companies exert political pressure to wrest $$$ from our pockets and develop unfair markets. I am a businessman, an economist a proponent of relatively free markers, but I hate un-free markets rigged to line corporate pockets.

Wile I appreciated the content, I found the writing loose and disappointing. Johnston wrote with too much passion, and written a little more evenly he would have made his point better. I also think covering fewer industries in more depth would have worked better.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well researched book on how large corporations use perfectly legal ways to make huge profits at the expense of everyone else. I think it would be beneficial if lawmakers would engage in debate and discussion over more of this material. For anyone interested in policy and law, this will be a good read -- though what Mr. Johnston uncovers will certainly make you angry. For the individual consumer, the parts on binding arbitration and choice of court venue are important concepts to read and heed.

[Madhusudan Chokhra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hats off for David Johnston for his arduous work. I cannot believe people (including me also) are so agnostic from the dirty tricks of big corporations in 21th century which is age of information.
Though this book contains example of only USA but the way corporations work we can definitely assume Indians corporations are no way different from their counterparts. This book surely is chef DE oeuvre of modus operandi of current economy. But still it is confusing, that there is no protest or whatsoever for this.
Again a very good book. Worth reading.

[Bob Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It needs to be said up front that this book is less about contractual fine print than about market abuses, especially monopolies, laws that artificially increase corporate power, and non-transparency of companies. It is absolutely essential reading. Johnston’s quality of writing and research is impeccable, and he chooses his subjects so well. The way our monopolies, capitalists and government interact is absolutely awful in the US; many could tell you that but I haven’t seen any book succeed so well at both the nitty-gritty and the big picture as Johnston does here.

[Thomas Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very informative book. Johnston offers plenty of details to support his points - enough to require close reading at times. In effect the situation of the non-privileged is much worse than most people know. Our political system is really against us but not in the way the tea party people think. Reading The Fine Print reveals that the only way some companies want to be in business is if they get handouts at customers' expense.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book. If one does not understand why the Court decision rendering Corporations as Persons was so egregious, this book helps explain how significant the negative ramifications have been. Paying so much for cell phone plans and cable is one thing, but when one realizes how basic needs such as water, electricity and trash pickup have also been influenced is just infuriating.

[b bb bbbb bbbbbbbb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ok. lot of the practices he covers really are out of hand. Such as some companies being allowed to (semi-secretly) keep the tax withheld from their employees paychecks instead of having to turn it over to the government like most companies do.

Anyway, I read part of it. As a potential reader, you might be better off hearing what Johnston has to say by listening to interviews. You'll get similar information, but in a much more condensed and summarized format.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Jaw dropping red rage inducing condemnation of our current "Profit at any cost" business models. the length and breath and depths to which these companies will stoop just to steal whatever money they can and their unrepentant attitude towards their ill gotten gains is simply beyond words. everyone needs to read this book although I cannot call it a pleasureable experience but a profoundly necessary one.

[Kurtbg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Further spelunking into the entangled reciprocity of business and government putting money, greed, and short term profits over democracy which keeps the greed (and collusion and what is ultimately embezzlement) in check by fair and just regulation which could create a thriving, stable, and sustainable economy. The dollar goes a long way, and it goes the longest for those with the most gold (remember the golden rule, he who has the gold, makes the rules)

[Karen! · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I think that maybe I'm reading it too late after publishing--that would account for one star. But even so, this would only get a 3. the writing is just plain annoying. It is too conversational. In an attempt to gain the readability of Lewis or Bryson, the author is too flashy. Every chapter is the same formulaic teaching style of shock and wow and now I'll teach you about these ridiculous practices. And I know I'm supposed to be just floored, but I was more bored...