Anyone who thinks there isn’t
enough “transparency” in the business world today should see the agreement and
disclosure statement I received along with the debit card I applied for. You’ll
note I said “see”; I didn’t say “read.”
The reason is that, in what they
would probably call a victory for transparency, VISA sent more information than
anyone, the most literate among us, could possibly absorb.
For starters, the
type is almost microscopic; I would estimate it at a 4 on the typographic point
scale that rates one-inch-high type as 72-point. This mouse type,
single-spaced, covers both sides of a sheet that folds out to 14 inches wide
and 7-1/2 inches high. The disclosure from the bank itself with the same type runs
an astounding 33 inches wide, and it’s an inch taller than the debit card
piece. Word count is beyond estimating. But you want full disclosure? We’ll
give you full disclosure.
This is a device I’ve seen also
used by the utility company, in the enclosure that comes in every bill, informing
you of their application for a rate increase. (Not the rate increase from last
month; this is a new one.) Everything you need to know for your futile comment
to the state Public Utilities Commission is there, but encoded in type so small
and so lengthy that only the lawyers who wrote it can be sure of what it says.
But it’s there; what’s your complaint, citizen?
There are consumer advocacy
organizations and they have lawyers, too, so sometimes we get to hear what all
those words really mean, and it’s usually bad news. The organization here in California
has celebrated some victories, but whether such organizations can overcome the
utility’s lobbying of the state agency over the long haul is a question. You’d
think our side would win, considering the unfair advantage we seemingly have: we’re a whole group of people and
the utility corporation is just one person. But what if he or she is dating someone
on the Commission?
