POST HOLIDAY CONSUMER EDITION

In this season of gift returns and clearance sales I though it'd be fun to assail our capitalist sytem with some good 'ol consumer education. It's a war out there. Everyone wants a piece of your paycheck and there isn't much they won't do to get it. Don't enter the fray unarmed... or, at the very least, disgusted.

1. Why capitalism sucks. Or: On day 2 of the New Year, top CEOs will be paid more than someone working minimum wage for the entire rest of the year.
2. Looking to buy a mattress? Expensive aren't they? 99% of it is marketing.
3. Here's someone who paid Verizon exactly what they deserved.
4. Early adopters win! A music download site that increases the cost of the tune as it grows in popularity.
5. You want to stop listening but you just can't... the joys of customer service and employees who don't know the difference between dollars and cents. Warning: basic math skills required. (thanks Jeff Sheerwood!)
6. So, you're found guilty of perpetrating the biggest corporate accounting scandal of all time and robbing thousands upon thousands of people of their retirement savings. You'd think you'd end up in "pound-me-in-the-ass" prison. Think again.
7. The company contracted to build a fence between the US and Mexico busted for.... complete this sentence.
8. A six figure income. 2 rental investment properties. 2 horses. 4 kids. Apparently CNN thinks these spoiled assholes are just "scraping by." I say, drop these spoiled whiners in Iraq for a couple of months then ask how hard they have it.
9. No talent? No problem! How to create a market-ready sexy pop star.
10. Amazon product reviews to inspire.