I have argued for years that De-Regulation was nothing but allowing fraud and crime back into the Corporate Capitalist System. That is that Snake Oil sales which is marginalized under strict regulation and policing, takes over under lax regulation and no policing. I need look no farther than the Criminal Debacle that was Enron and the failed Savings and Loans thefts to make my point. But now the Thieves can even run Advertising in CES’ local paper. I will not post the Ad here,
because it is obscene. But it is an 8th of a page ad on page 3 of todays paper. The headline is Device MAY Increase Gas Mileage by 22%. The device is called Platinum Gas Saver. According to Consumer’s Reports:
their claims are simply lies and have been for 8 years.
Gas savers: Do they really help?With gas prices still high, readers have asked us to weigh in on products that promise better fuel economy. We tested three: Fuel Genie, Platinum Gas Saver, and Tornado. Our advice: Don’t waste your money. They don’t work. This isn’t news. We’ve tested such devices over the years and have not found any that improve fuel economy. The Environmental Protection Agency, whose Web site lists scores of devices that the agency has tested in the past 30 years, including the Platinum Gas Saver, has had similar results.
And then there is the EdenPURE space heater which ran a full page advertisement in the Weekend’s Parade Magazine. Any Electric Space heater takes electricity and converts it to heat. It doesn’t matter how efficiently you do that conversion you can only get a set amount of BTU’s from every watt of power. For a lot less money (say 30 $$$$) you can buy an electric resistance space heater. The other claims, that its totally safe and doesn’t reduce moisture are AGAINST the laws of physics. Any device that uses electricity can catch fire, modern heaters have shut-off valves, and won’t cause burns. Anything that heats air by definition reduces humidity.
Where is the AG’s Office When you need them? These are national advertising campaigns designed to rip off the Elderly and the Poor. But then in George Bush’s world this is just harmless hucksterism.