In Search of the Short Statement (Searching for Gato, etc.)

I've been trying to locate an old friend for a long time. He's harder to track than most. Finally I paid 1.50 to an online outfit to dish up the report. So far I have not used the addresses to contact him.
He was known as Gato Loco, and I was another sort of gato. Long story, and if you weren't versed in, and entertained by, spanglish in S FL it would mean nothing.

The stupid place has my phone number and now wants to give me $100 in gas vouchers for paying another dollar to test drive some service for two weeks. Of course there may be an issue with canceling it. There always is.

No, I said. No, no no. I wonder now what is next. I better monitor my bank statements closely.

This kind of thing is where people give capitalism a bad name. Semi-deceptive sales techniques which offer you something FREE and you don't have to do much of anything. They don't volunteer the issue of you being responsible to get the thing stopped if you don't want some recurring charge of who knows how much. That part is hidden in the background, in the fine print, the super fast spoken announcement.

It uses the old con man technique--bait 'em with something for nothing.

Some would say more regulation and government oversight is the answer. I think not. That is half the trouble. Enforce the standing laws against force and fraud. Splitting hairs gives rise to loopholes.

Yes, people should be vigilant, but really, this is not what trade and commerce ought to be. You knew I couldn't get through this without pointing out how our own government, on every level, plays the same game. That, I suggest, is part of the problem. Would people be so hard up for employment that they have to do the bidding of deceptive firms had government not taken over 40%, or whatever it is, of the work force? And the laws, control, and educational sytem, as well as the press, selling their nonsense at every turn in every aspect of life--geez.

There must be a better way, and it damned sure isn't along the lines of solidarinosc. Something else that doesn't require running in a pack, or playing tricks just because you can get away with it.

Sorry. It wasn't that short. I tried, I swear.