Gouged

這是一部對企業暴利新工具的猛烈揭露，也是一份應對企業欺騙消費者錢財策略的實戰指南——以及我們如何能走在他們前面的方法——出自經濟政策的領袖發聲者兼企業監督智庫執行董事。

放眼望去，美國人正處處被敲竹槓：線上票務商隱藏在高昂的額外費用背後；房東利用軟體聯合起來策劃人為的房租上漲；共享叫車軟體在雨天飆升票價；而汽車公司則安裝軟體向汽車保險公司報告您的駕駛行為，以便保險公司調高您的保費。監控定價（Surveillance pricing）、演算法價格操縱以及其他高科技形式的價格敲詐是企業暴利的最新前線——它們正在掏空美國經濟和您的錢包。

在《敲詐》（Gouged）中，經濟專家兼資深消費者倡議者林賽·歐文斯（Lindsay Owens）帶領我們深入制定價格決策的企業董事會會議室，揭露企業在結帳時抬高您支付價格的種種把戲、陷阱與騙局。從數據收集到無人機監控，現代科技為公司提供了令人震驚的精細工具庫，以盡可能從消費者身上榨取金錢，從而獲得創紀錄的利潤。歐文斯利用第一手報導、股東大會速記文本和嚴謹的經濟分析，瞄準科技巨頭、航空公司、醫療保險公司等，揭開了價格敲詐如何席捲您家庭預算中的幾乎每一項支出的黑幕，從看病到房租、從雜貨到尿布，甚至是您的暑期度假。

《敲詐》用必要的知識武裝我們，使我們能首先識別並隨後避開企業試圖對我們隱瞞的陷阱。在價格敲詐已變得無處不在的世界裡，《敲詐》是任何希望保持知情、節省資金而非將其奉獻給貪婪執行長，並在美國維護公平價格的人的必讀之書。

A searing exposé of the new tools of corporate profiteering and a field guide to the deceptive tactics companies are using to cheat consumers out of their money—and how we can get ahead of them—from a leading voice in economic policy and executive director of a corporate watchdog think tank

Everywhere you turn, Americans are getting ripped off: Online ticket sellers hide behind exorbitant extra fees. Landlords use software to band together and organize artificial rent hikes. Ride-sharing apps spike their fares when it rains. And car companies install software that reports your driving behavior to auto insurance companies so that they can hike your premiums. Surveillance pricing, algorithmic price fixing, and other high-tech forms of price gouging are the latest frontiers in corporate profiteering—and they’re gutting the American economy and your wallet.

In Gouged, economic expert and veteran consumer advocate Lindsay Owens takes us inside the corporate boardrooms where pricing decisions are made, uncovering the tricks, traps, and grifts corporations use to jack up the price you pay at checkout. From data collection to drone surveillance, modern technology provides companies a staggering arsenal of sophisticated tools to squeeze as much money out of consumers as possible, resulting in record profits. Drawing on original reporting, shareholder meeting transcripts, and rigorous economic analysis, Owens takes aim at Big Tech behemoths, airlines, health insurance companies, and others to pull back the curtain on how price gouging is coming for almost every line item in your household budget, from doctor visits to rent, groceries to diapers, and even your summer vacation.

Gouged arms us with the essential knowledge we need to first recognize, and then sidestep, the traps that corporations try to conceal from us. In a world where price gouging has become ubiquitous, Gouged is necessary reading for anyone looking to stay an informed consumer, save money rather than surrender it to greedy CEOs, and stand up for fair prices in America.