On Tuesday, Reddit user u/tycooperaow asked people "What is clearly a scam, but Americans have been conditioned to believe that it is 'normal'?"
It led to people sharing things in America that so many Americans think are normal, but really aren't. It's pretty eye-opening! Here's what people said:
Cellphone plans:
"Your cellphone plans. In my country, I pay €20 for unlimited calls, SMS, and data. I work in phone sales, and whenever I speak to an American, they cannot believe how cheap our plans are compared to what they pay." —u/deccytag
Unpaid internships:
"They're literally wage theft." —u/WaYaADisi1
This add-on:
"Charging $1 to add cheese." —u/imnotyourbrahhh
"College is for everyone" mentality:
"The push that 'college is for everyone!' Also, you aren’t able to default on your student loans, so banks will give them to anyone. Coincidentally, society started telling people that they should all go to college, no matter their situation, right after passing the bill that made student loans impossible to hide from.” —u/jude802
Medical costs:
"Americans thinking that medical procedures are actually that expensive. Fun fact: In a normal country, you don't pay tens of thousands of dollars." —u/punsexual_disaster
Car dealerships:
"Car dealerships. They're literally just middle-man functions that do nothing more than raise the cost of the 'good' and produce taxation for the government on multiple levels of the transactions involved in purchasing a car through the third party." —u/AdultReasoning
Megachurches:
"Megachurches are literal scams. They make a lot of money, saying it's for the church, then they buy 12 mansions." —u/SteelWarrior-
Time off:
"Getting limited days worth of annual leave per year and then being encouraged not to use it." —u/vietcong420
Tipping because of low wages:
"Tipping restaurant servers so the owners of the restaurant don’t have to pay them a living wage." —u/Mean_Increase_
Expensive cards:
"Greeting cards cost like $5!" —u/ItsPronouncedTribe
Overdraft protection:
"'Overdraft protection,' which actually allows the bank to charge you when you use a debit card, instead of just declining the transaction." —u/rainbowcadillac
Social media ads:
"90% of ads you see in social media. Hair fruit gummies do not help your hair." —u/ThatGirlNo1Knows
The pledge of allegiance:
"The pledge of allegiance was actually an advertisement to sell flags." —u/Gremlin0011