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12 Legal Ways To Make Money That Are So Unethical They Should Be Illegal

4 days ago

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Everyone is trying to make money the best way they know how. However, there are some professions that, albeit legal, many people frown upon.

While these are not necessarily illegal ways to make money, they are unethical, and so while the law might not stop you, people may hold you in contempt for making money in this way.

How do we decide what is an unethical way to make money? Here are some ways that most people think are unethical and should be illegal, even if they are not currently illegal.

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Payday Loans

People who give payday loans take advantage of others’ desperation. Taking people who are low on money and desperate and giving them huge interest rates on loans is like kicking them when they are down.

To be fair, people with terrible credit have a high probability of default, so charging insanely high interest rates is the only way to break even without losing money. Despite their controversy, many of these lenders do provide value by lending to people who are shunned by the banking system. However, many payday loans are extremely scammy and wrong.

Time Share Opportunity

Timeshares are extremely predatory, very hard to get out of, and almost never the deal that is offered. People who sell timeshares engage in high-pressure sales tactics because they know they will have to override people's natural skepticism. Selling a product you know people will probably regret is an unethical way to make money.

Hoarding and Scalping

Hoarding, especially when in a pressure situation, and then selling it for a high price can be illegal and certainly unethical. Unfortunately, during natural disasters or other tragedies, many people hoard and then resell basic necessities.

Scalping is legal, yet it seems wrong; with scalping, you buy a product with a limited number and sell it for a higher price due to the limited inventory. It takes advantage of people's needs and wants and is just not ethical.

MLMs

Multi-level marketers are similar to telephone scammers. People in MLMs don't make money; they lose it. I don't see how these people are any better than telephone scammers, but somehow, they get away with it on a grand scale. Just look at the number of satellite companies that are MLMs that charge fees to join and require you to recruit others. If that's not a pyramid scheme, I'm not sure what is. Many people who are in MLMs often don't realize that what they are doing is unethical, but they feel bad about the tactics they use.

(Don't think MLMs are scams? Read this: MLM Scams and Horror Stories: The Screwed Up World of Multi-Level Marketing)

Private Prisons

Owners of private prisons seem to be incentivizing arrests to keep their businesses running. Nothing is more unethical than profiting off the suffering of humans or encouraging arrests.

Starting a Megachurch

Unfortunately, this is often a practice that is not exactly available to all the masses. Starting a megachurch and bleeding your parishioners dry in the name of religion is not exactly ethical.

Jacking up the Price of a Medication

Increasing the price of medication is not illegal, but it seems wrong. While people should be compensated for the research and work they do to create and manufacture medicines, raking in large profits while charging people insane amounts of money to stay alive is the definition of unethical.

Politics

A lot of people are done with politicians. One person remarked online, “Politicians are nothing but grifters," and many people agree with them. Politicians who have vested interests, even if declared and legal, can be extremely morally ambiguous, involve very unhealthy relationships, and give sway to a politician’s priorities.

Televangelists

Televangelists sell miracles to a vulnerable audience. Very often, these "miracles" are staged and just a way to make money immorally. They often prey on desperate people who see no other way to help themselves.

Working for Big Tobacco

This is a legal job with deathly consequences. You're selling death, and everyone, including you, knows it. Even people who smoke curse those who sell cigarettes because having the temptation to buy them makes it harder for them to quit smoking. This is especially true when companies target and market to vulnerable populations.

Bill Collectors

They are troublesome and disturb everyone as they look to get paid. While people should pay what they are owed, many bill collectors engage in illegal and immoral tactics to get people to pay. They spam call people and their family members, make threatening calls and texts, and very often lie about the debts and the law.

Drop Shipping

Drop shipping is basically buying a bunch of super cheap products from China and selling them online as your own original product for a much more expensive price. When this is disclosed or added value, then you can have a good job, but very often, people do this just to trick people into thinking they are getting quality items or items made domestically.