Ohhhhh snap, kittehz.
Yascha Mounk of The Atlantic went out and delivered one epic face-slap to the mafia operation that is retail optometry. He titles it, The Great American Eye Exam Scam.
It’s juicy and it’s delicious.
Yascha asks all the right questions:
So why does the United States require people who want to purchase something as simple as a curved piece of plastic to get a prescription, preceded by a costly medical exam?
And of course the answers are all hiding in plain sight:
One possible reason for such strict vision-wear rules is that many people have a financial interest in this burdensome system.
Of course also true, the mafia like activities that your favorite old tottery eye guru has been shouting about on his little corner soap box, for years:
It is little wonder, then, that American optometrists spend a lot of money on lobbying. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, for example, the AOA spent $1.8 million on lobbying and another $1.4 million on campaign contributions in 2016. And although the AOA was unsuccessful in its attempt to block the laws requiring optometrists to give patients a copy of their prescription, any attempt to remove the need for frequent office visits (the exact figure depends on whether you wear glasses or contacts, among other factors) is likely to meet with stiff resistance.
That’s right. They tried to make sure you can’t even get those diopter numbers that you paid for. That the sort of scum-baggery that we’re dealing with.
The whole system is a huge scam. Myopia is reversible. You don’t need glasses. The only reason you’re wearing them is because they want to keep making all that easy money by forcing you to subscribe to your own 20/20 eyesight using their products.
Please do spend a moment, tweet @Yascha Mounk, let him know you appreciate this kind of reporting. Encourage journalists to continue digging and exposing this charlatanry.
Cheers,
Jake
