[Commentary] How much invisible "IQ tax" does the speculation concept make consumers pay?
What you can buy at a high price is only ordinary goods, which is a kind of property loss to consumers. It is almost an invisible "IQ tax", which is an infringement on consumers' rights. The market is full of merchants who play concepts, and it may Because of the low cost and high selling price, the huge profits are obtained, and the merchants who use real materials and work hard and cost more are expelled. This is the disorderly competition of bad money expelling good money; dishonest and opportunistic people have repeatedly succeeded. Even getting rich, this is a challenge to social integrity.
According to the Beijing News on August 18, the official WeChat account of the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau recently issued a reminder that real whole wheat bread does not have wheat flour and must be 100% whole wheat. The reporter conducted an investigation on the 13 bread products of 10 brands sold on the market that were labeled as "whole wheat" and found that only 5 products met the "true whole wheat" standard described by the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, and 4 products used whole wheat flour. The main ingredient is wheat flour, and the other 4 models are made of wheat flour.
Regardless of the content of whole wheat flour, many breads have "whole wheat bread" written on the outer packaging, and consumers buy them as "whole wheat bread". Very few people really know how much whole wheat flour is in it. At the same time, many consumers are looking at the concepts of "satisfaction", "no oil and sugar", "fat reduction" and "health" of whole wheat bread. Now it seems that the "concept" is beautiful, and the reality is cruel. At present, there is no standard for "whole wheat bread" in China. There is obviously a difference between the so-called "whole-wheat bread" that only adds a little whole-wheat flour and consumers' health perception and fat reduction or nutritional needs.
With the improvement of people's living standards and health awareness, many people are pursuing a healthier and scientific lifestyle. Correspondingly, many foods, drinks, and daily necessities that look and sound healthier are emerging in an endless stream, such as "alkaline water", "small molecule water", "earth eggs", "walking chicken", "organic vegetables", "green food", and "healthy paint". ",and many more. Undoubtedly, once linked to the concepts of pure naturalness, pollution-free, high nutrition, and rich in ×× elements, the value of these products will be very different.
If these commodities are worthy of the name and value for money, there is nothing wrong with it. The crux of the problem is that, from the reality, consumers are still paying more for the "concept". Although they have paid a higher purchase cost, they get the money. It's just "just so so". To put it bluntly, it means being a "big head" and may be ridiculed by businesses that "people are stupid and have a lot of money".
It should be admitted that nowadays, many businesses are indeed researching and developing products and commodities of higher quality, higher nutritional value, and higher technological content for people’s consumption upgrades and a better life. However, among them, the concept of hotness and speculation There are not a few that are purely flickering. For example, in recent years, there have been many reports that so-called "organic food" can be certified at a cost, "selling dog meat with sheep's head"; free-range chickens that "grow under an acorn tree for a lifetime and eat only wild green feed" In fact, they are ordinary caged chickens; the so-called "earth eggs" means that the merchants add some coloring agents to the chicken feed to make the egg yolk look darker; "high-end water" is not high-end, "adjusting the pH of the human body." It has the effect of supplementing oxygen" is actually just a gimmick...
The reason is that, firstly, some products do not have uniform standards, and the merchants take the opportunity to have the final say; secondly, even if there are standards, many places are not implemented in place and supervision is not strong; thirdly, consumers often do not study them deeply. Lack of channels to understand the truth.
What you buy at a high price is only ordinary goods, which is a kind of property loss to consumers. It is almost an invisible "IQ tax", which is a violation of consumer rights; the market is full of these "playing concept" merchants, and It may gain huge profits because of low cost and high selling price, and then expel those merchants who use real materials and work hard to cost more. This is the disorderly competition of bad money expelling good money; dishonest and opportunistic people often Success, or even making a fortune, is a challenge to social integrity.
In any case, "concept egg", "concept water", "concept bread" and all "concept" and unsubstantiated "packaging" behaviors should be stopped and corrected in time. Relevant departments have the responsibility and obligation to distinguish between different situations, make precise efforts to combat fakes, so that the people’s good life can be "truthful".
Lin Lin