These shady practices aren’t exclusively illegal in America, despite other Western countries outlawing them. Firing employees without notice, payday loans, and price gouging are among these 17 questionable practices that are legal in many states.
Selling Products with Known Health Risks
America isn’t unique for selling harmful products like cigarettes and alcohol, but it has been slow to ban some. Recently, the Biden administration delayed a ban on menthol cigarettes drafted by the FDA, which could prevent thousands of smoking-related deaths.
Civil Asset Forfeiture Without Conviction
Civil asset forfeiture laws in America allow police to seize property without trial if they suspect it’s linked to criminal activity. The laws are often used as justification for seizing large sums from criminal organizations, but ProPublica points out in a study that the average forfeiture across 21 states was only $1,276. They note that it’s “often used to target ordinary people stopped for minor infractions, like traffic violations.”
Caller ID Spoofing
The FCC does have rules that make some forms of spoofing illegal when it’s done with “intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongly obtain anything of value.” However, it can be legal when telemarketers call on behalf of a company with a spoofed number.
Dodgy Natural Cure Supplements
Supplements offering natural cures for cancer, inflammation, and weight loss can be sold unregulated if they have a “natural cure” tag. The FDA can’t regulate them and assess their effectiveness, so these supplements can be sold with potentially harmful side effects.
Keeping Exotic Animals as Pets
Alligators, crocodiles, capybaras, and kangaroos are a selection of exotic animals that can be legally kept as pets in America. There’s no required license for many of these species, which leads to unsuitable owners buying animals they can’t properly care for.
Creating Prescription Drug Dependencies
Addiction to prescription drugs has skyrocketed in America over the past few decades. Companies have profited from addiction to painkillers, and thousands of people who were addicted to these prescription drugs go on to get hooked on fentanyl and die every year.
Using Loopholes to Avoid Paying Taxes
The federal tax code is notorious for its tax expenditures, which help businesses and individuals avoid paying taxes. The Progressive Policy Institute notes that in 2019, these provisions “cost the federal government 6.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in lost revenue,” more than the amounts spent on Medicare, Social Security, and national defense.
High-Frequency Trading
High-frequency trading (HFT) is a method of trading that uses computer programs that transact large numbers of orders in fractions of a second. It’s legal in America but has been criticized for making human decisions. It also allows larger companies to profit at the expense of smaller ones, and its “ghost liquidity” prevents it from being traded.
Advertising Unhealthy Food to Children
Junk food ads targeted at children on TV, in mobile games, and online are thought to contribute to high childhood obesity levels in the U.S. The Guardian explains that the Federal Trade Commission attempted “to crack down on advertising to children,” but the food industry and politicians harshly criticized it, and “the agency was closed for a short time.” The industry has since lobbied “to prevent the FTC from enacting even voluntary guidelines.”
Predatory Lending Practices
Predatory lending practices like payday loans are available across much of America. These short-term, very-high-interest loans are outlawed in 16 states but function as a debt trap for many Americans.
Flipping Patents for Profit
Patent trolling exploits structural issues in the American patent and court systems to generate revenue. A number of legal activities and loopholes involving patents exist, including filing false patent infringement claims with no intention of ever developing a product or service.
Paying Women Less Than Men
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 outlawed paying women less than men for the same job, but the gender pay gap has persisted since then. Forbes points out that “women earn 16% less than men on average” and that “a 20-year-old woman just starting full-time, year-round work stands to lose $407,760 over a 40-year career compared to her male counterpart.”
Firing Employees Without Cause
At-will employment allows companies to dismiss their employees for any reason without warning. If the firing is discriminatory, it’s illegal, but in most cases, employers can fire their employees with no notice.
Walmart’s Monopoly
Despite the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, monopolies still exist in America. Walmart controls over half of grocery sales in America, and in some areas, its market share is over 70%, making it an effective monopoly.
Unlimited Campaign Donations by Super PACs
Unlike traditional PACs, Super PACS have been allowed to raise unlimited amounts from corporations, individuals, and unions since 2010. In an opinion piece for The Hill, Richard Protzman argues that the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and the Federal Election Campaign Act “have been disasters for our elections by incentivizing super PACs and forcing campaigns to constantly dial for dollars in order to keep pace with election cycles.”
Price Gouging During Emergencies
Price gouging is charging high prices for necessities when demand spikes. It’s often due to natural disasters or other emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, when some companies hiked up the price of sanitizer. The practice is illegal in some states, but others lack direct laws to protect consumers.
Broadcasting Misleading Information
The FCC can’t stop broadcasters from claiming that their programs are fiction when they broadcast misleading information that would cause “public harm.” They say, “Broadcasters may air disclaimers that clearly characterize programming as fiction to avoid violating FCC rules about public harm.” The First Amendment protects fake news, but a defamation lawsuit is a common legal recourse against it.
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