# What industry is most built on bluff and bull feathers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 1, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994 "2020-08-01T16:20:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/41 "2020-08-03T18:49:16Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I like the _idea_ of a potato-based vodka, mashed by elderly artisans in the old country but damned if I can taste it. Legally speaking, vodka was, until VERY recently, required to be nothing more than ethanol and water, and be as neutral as possible. The fundamental problem with vodka is that some of it is totally absurd and somewhat misleading, unless it’s supposed to be flavorless. I mean, WTF Is a “grape” vodka, or a “cane” vodka, or a “corn” vodka? Unless they’re distilled to the point of having no distinct flavor, they’re just unaged brandy, rum and corn whiskey. And if they are flavorless, who cares what they’re made from? Seems to be totally marketing nonsense to me, or stupid consumers. I mean, if you want your vodka to be clearly identifiable as made from sugarcane, you really probably want rum. But apparently there’s a market for this kind of thing as “vodka”.+ ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/42 "2020-08-03T18:58:35Z")
That’s pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/43 "2020-08-03T19:15:16Z")
Make-up. A $7 lipstick works as well as a $40 department store ‘luxury’ one. Then lets talk about the whole concept of ‘make up’, excluding theatrical or medical cosmetics to cover burns, etc. Pantyhose or nylons Air fresheners Scented candles High end TP Sweat pants with a huge brand name plastered across the ass ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/44 "2020-08-03T19:22:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, one thing to watch out for is when they attack Annuities- Annuities can be solid investments, but of course investment companies dont make $$ off them. This is incorrect. I’m a financial advisor - variable annuities have been one of the highest paying commissions products out there, and the companies that create them load them up with fees, so they’re making plenty on them as well. Fixed annuities pay out less as a commission - but still make the company plenty of money. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/45 "2020-08-03T19:43:08Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > free samples for a bargain price Never heard of such a thing. That’s some bluff and bull feathers right there! What was the bargain price for **free** samples? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/46 "2020-08-03T19:52:07Z")
Maybe I said that wrong. They gave a very small free sample and offered to sell you a much bigger quantity for $80 or so which included “a bonus sample” (and if you act now…) I was trying to be succinct but instead was unclear. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/47 "2020-08-03T21:22:03Z")
A fixed annuity thru a _Insurance_ company doesnt make the _Investment_ company any money. Which is why they attack them ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/48 "2020-08-03T21:39:54Z")
My brother had one but he was not allowed to use it in the house. One morning as we were getting ready to leave for school, I picked it up, held it in his face, and pulled the trigger assuming it was empty. It wasn’t, and our parents ran into the room and told us that people do that with real guns too, and this was not something to be taken lightly. I was probably about 13, and he would have been about 10 at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/49 "2020-08-03T22:55:17Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > A fixed annuity thru a _Insurance_ company doesnt make the _Investment_ company any money. _Investment_ companies sell plenty of fixed annuities. I have never been instructed or suggested to steer clients away from fixed annuities when they would be the most appropriate option. That would be in my capacity as the employee of the _investment_ company selling a fixed annuity - in fact, I have been instructed to shop around to find which company (_investment_ or _insurance_) is offering the best rates at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/50 "2020-08-03T23:55:48Z")
Dr\_Paprika: “Didn’t hear so much about homeopathy during Covid.” There was a minor setback for the faith recently, when the Journal of Public Health was embarrassed into retracting a paper on homeopathic treatment of Covid-19. > **[Blaming “overflow of manuscripts” and “obviously biased” reviewers, journal...](https://retractionwatch.com/2020/07/27/blaming-overflow-of-manuscripts-and-obviously-biased-reviewers-journal-will-retract-homeopathy-covid-19-paper/)** > > A public health journal will be retracting a paper that argued for the adoption of homeopathy in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, according to the editor in chief. We reported on Saturda… The American Institute of Homeopathy has a Secret Database of homeopathic treatments/cures of coronavirus infection on its website; you need ‘‘security clearance’’ to access it. Don’t want any nasty evidence-based snickering from doubters. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/51 "2020-08-04T00:11:20Z")
Fisher Investments pushes tons of ads saying how bad annuities are: > **[Annuity Insights | Fisher Investments](https://www.fisherinvestments.com/en-us/resource-library/free-investing-guides/annuity-insights?PC=GOOBYLNK28&CC=8E10&utm_campaign=Brand_FisherProducts&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6575BRCQARIsAMp-ksNXLFYEP5NzdVdY8NUhAgEF1ZwAWd0UmrDhKQtr8bBqGwismrJKMygaArhjEALw_wcB)** > > Find out why Fisher Investments Founder Ken Fisher hates annuities. This must-read guide contains for nine questions every annuity investor should ask. Don’t miss it! [https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/five-reasons-ken-fisher-loves-annuities#.XyimvRNKh3k](https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/five-reasons-ken-fisher-loves-annuities#.XyimvRNKh3k) _Yes, Ken’s back at it as the hater of annuities. His ads have picked up as has his drip messaging. It seems Fisher Investments has never met a marketing opportunity they are willing to pass up and the Department of Labor rule is just that opportunity._ _…_ _On the one hand, Ken hates annuities because they are bad for Fisher Investments. According to the 2014 Gallup Study, most annuity consumers who buy annuities keep their money in annuities._ _That could mean close to $1 trillion dollars of annuity savings lost to Fisher Investments. As they say, you do the math – that’s $10 billion of asset fees not earned by AUM planners at the typical 1 percent per year… **3. Ken’s licensing requirements** _ _Advising against annuities does not require an insurance license. Insurance agents and advisors who are not registered investment advisors are prohibited by law from advising about the specific securities people own and recommending they use them to fund an annuity. However, the securities industry does not prohibit the unlicensed and untrained investment advisor from discussing and advising against annuities and recommending their surrender… **5. Easy money** _ _Annuities are fairly easy to liquidate and transfer funds. Yet, anyone who has funded an annuity with other financial products knows that moving money from risk-based investments to an annuity is fraught with numerous barriers and delays. Even moving money from one annuity to another is very difficult and time consuming. But when Ken helps his clients terminate an annuity, he is not bound by the same rules of suitability, churning and replacement – all insurance laws that protect the consumer from fraud and unsuitable sales._ [https://www.blueprintincome.com/resources/annuity-basics/ken-fisher-i-hate-annuities/](https://www.blueprintincome.com/resources/annuity-basics/ken-fisher-i-hate-annuities/) # Should You Hate Annuities like Ken Fisher? Published January 10, 2019 _Should you hate annuities? Yes, some types. Others? No, not if you believe the federal government, trusted academics or Ken Fisher himself._ _Behind every successful marketing campaign, there’s a dirty secret. The case of Fisher Investments’ “Why I Hate Annuities And You Should Too” is no different. Here are six reasons why following the advice of his catchy ad campaign might be the wrong choice for you._ So, there is a major investment company that spends millions in ad $ trying to convince people annuities are evil. It is not alone. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/52 "2020-08-04T00:44:25Z")
This article isn’t what I would call objective in any sense, but I understand it’s perspective. But when the insurance industry complains about lack of oversight of the investment industry, you know they’re completely full of it. My insurance license was a cake walk compared to my investment licenses, and I face far more scrutiny and compliance on the investment side than I do on the insurance side. Fisher doesn’t “hate annuities” because he lacks the sophisticated licenses to sell an insurance product, that’s for sure. Be that as it may, you’re jumping back and forth between fixed and variable annuities, and they are vastly different creatures. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/53 "2020-08-04T02:22:09Z")
ISO9001 certification. A bigger pile of trendy-ass buzzword bullsh\*t I’ve never seen. One of **Mrs R** ’s college friends made a pretty good career out of jumping on every feel-good corporate buzzword fad that came along. An entire life being obscenely well-paid while adding absolutely no value whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/54 "2020-08-04T03:19:36Z")
Recycling : except aluminum, everything else goes to landfills. But people put a lot of effort into sorting plastics and recycling companies make money by picking up recycling. Organic produce : big scam there too. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/55 "2020-08-04T05:05:22Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > Organic produce : big scam there too. Depends on why you’re calling it a scam. If it’s claims that organic is healthier for you, yes, that’s probably not true. Or it’s only slightly true and hard to measure. If it’s because there’s a lot of falsely labeled organic produce out there and the Ag Dept doesn’t do squat about it, yes, that’s true. But if you just want farmers to decrease the amount of insecticides and herbicides they spread around the countryside, then that’s a good reason, despite the aforementioned bogusly-labeled stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/56 "2020-08-04T14:37:08Z")
The thought is there. But that’s only true if there is genuinely a reliable certification system. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/57 "2020-08-04T14:42:37Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > ISO9001 certification. A bigger pile of trendy-ass buzzword bullsh\*t I’ve never seen. One of **Mrs R** ’s college friends made a pretty good career out of jumping on every feel-good corporate buzzword fad that came along. An entire life being obscenely well-paid while adding absolutely no value whatsoever. Yea, ISO9001 is bullshit. “Auditors” are paid lots of money to verify you are documenting everything. It has nothing to do with ensuring quality of product or quality of services. You can produce complete garbage and have crappy service and pass an ISO audit with flying colors, as long as all your documentation is in order. It’s worthless. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/58 "2020-08-04T14:55:19Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Once I saw a brand touting the diamonds in their filtration system, I knew it was all bullshit from there on out with vodkas. It was actually proto-diamonds… ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/59 "2020-08-04T18:10:36Z")
> [@Saffer](#): > > > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > > > Premium vodkas. > > Not sure I agree with this one. If you are drinking vodka neat, then just like whisky, there is a difference between dirt cheap and mid range. High end stuff is always gumph I agree. There seems to be a softness in mouthfeel to potato based vodka that is not in grain based vodkas, not sure why, it is counterintuitive to something that is distilled. A lot of stuff is bullfeathers in the food industry - organic pops to mind [if it is not metal or a salt, and is carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen with other elements for flavor and color is organic, which pretty much defines anything from the ‘finest’ Trader Joe snack to twinkies. Also, pretty much anything sold by Goop … vaginal steaming, anybody? [urrgh!] ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994/60 "2020-08-04T19:07:14Z")
Aluminum is profitable, glass is a wash, cardboard is good, plastic is expensive. They dont landfill plastic, mostly, but it is costly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-industry-is-most-built-on-bluff-and-bull-feathers/916994.md?page=4)