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posted by mrpg on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:36AM   Printer-friendly
from the 好笑 dept.

It's only appropriate that the country with the $40 trillion ponzi financial system and where a broke pig farming company paid its creditors in bacon, only to run out of pigs, has created a pyramid scheme that involves literal pyramids.

Authorities in China’s capital are investigating two companies selling "energy pyramid" products using such illegal practices as fake advertising and multilevel marketing, The Beijing News reported Monday.

According to the outlet, police in Beijing’s Fengtai District launched an investigation with the national-level State Administration for Industry and Commerce on Monday to look into the products’ manufacturer, Weihai Ruihong Energy Technology Co. Ltd., and distributor, Beijing Hongzheng Technology Co. Ltd.

The companies allegedly advertised their pyramid-shaped wares — priced between 5,000 and 100,000 yuan ($740 and $14,900) — as having “healing” and “energy-absorbing” properties, and like any other pyramid scheme, attempted to recruit salespeople into a multilevel marketing operation.

Only In China: A Pyramid Scheme Involving Actual Pyramids


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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by RandomFactor on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:36AM (8 children)

    by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:36AM (#829204) Journal

    Apparently their 愈合脉轮金字塔 technology is up with our own [orgonitecrystal.com] can't we have ANYTHING of our own China?

    --
    В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @02:24AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @02:24AM (#829210)

      can't we have ANYTHING of our own China?

      MAGA!!1!one!

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:30PM (4 children)

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:30PM (#829338) Homepage
      Don't claim credit for that, Wilhelm Reich was an Austrian. (And /WR: Mysteries of the Organism/ is a truly fucked up movie. No matter how much blindness-inducing homemade fruit wine I drank during the viewing was capable of numbing my brain enough to not feel the pain.)
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
      • (Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Sunday April 14 2019, @02:25PM (3 children)

        by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 14 2019, @02:25PM (#829371) Journal

        Damn, did i just piss off the Austrians?

        Or did you? :-p

        --
        В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
        • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday April 14 2019, @07:44PM (1 child)

          by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Sunday April 14 2019, @07:44PM (#829463) Homepage
          The Austrians have other births to feel guilty for!
          --
          Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @11:42PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @11:42PM (#829531)

            Not everybody is buying it.

        • (Score: 3, Funny) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday April 14 2019, @08:17PM

          by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Sunday April 14 2019, @08:17PM (#829476)

          Be careful. If you piss them off they'll get you with their kangaroos.

    • (Score: 2) by progo on Sunday April 14 2019, @08:36PM (1 child)

      by progo (6356) on Sunday April 14 2019, @08:36PM (#829479) Homepage

      Damn, even the snakeoil salespeople use "hide everything else" newsletter sign-up popup dialog boxes. I closed the page before I perceived I was being annoyed by the popup. (Reflex.) And now I don't know what the ad might say and never will.

      Is it time for the government to step in and license web designers?

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 15 2019, @04:27AM

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 15 2019, @04:27AM (#829638) Journal

        Is it time for the government to step in and license web designers?

        As long as their families pay for the bullet, amirite?

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:49AM (14 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:49AM (#829207)

    Yes, it should be as the math challenged can’t understand that it only benefits those at the top of the pyramid. My own parents had big dreams for first Amway then JuicePlus and still no richer, in fact poorer for wasting money that could have gone to better investments.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @11:51AM (12 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @11:51AM (#829331)

      Then social security would be illegal. Many gov pensions too.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by FatPhil on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:35PM (11 children)

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:35PM (#829339) Homepage
        Nope, idiot.

        Social security that relies on there being more taxpayers in the future than now, and social security that does not rely on there being more taxpayers in the future than now, are both social security. However, only one of them is organised like a ponzi scheme.

        So it's not the "social security" bit that's the ponzi scheme, it's the "organised like a ponzi scheme" bit that's the ponzi scheme. However, I wouldn't expect a libertard like yourself to be able to comprehend the distinction.
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:54PM (9 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:54PM (#829347)

          I for one do not expect to ever see any meaningful social security, good luck counting on an obvious pyramid scheme to keep paying out. Your politically motivated false reality will have negative effects on your life, not my problem.

          • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:59PM (6 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:59PM (#829348)

            I'd even say the entire world monetary system based on the fed is a ponzi scheme that requires constant growth to avoid collapse. Namely, for every debt issued the corresponding money for the interest needs to also be generated somehow.

            • (Score: 1, Troll) by crafoo on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:40PM (4 children)

              by crafoo (6639) on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:40PM (#829361)

              Well the interest is generated.. by the labor of the debtor over time.
              Now, when the fed loans the government money at interest it makes us all debtors. We pay back the interest with taxes. See, the government can't just keep raising taxes for all the free shit people demand via their dipshit voting habits. So they ask the fed for more cash (running a deficit spending plan). The inflation this necessarily causes makes you poorer. The ever-increasing interest payments via existing taxes makes you poorer.

              The not-so-secret secret is that the social security fund will be partially unfunded in the next 3-5 years. So expected payouts will exceed taxes collected for that year. Either benefits get cut or the age of retirement gets a big bump; maybe to 80. Yes, it is indeed a ponzi scheme. We (this generation and the following) are at the bottom of the pyramid.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @02:08PM (1 child)

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @02:08PM (#829366)

                Well the interest is generated.. by the labor of the debtor over time.

                The labor of the debtor does not increase the number of units of currency though. When they pay back the interest it either come from somewhere else where there will be a deficit, or ultimately the fed "prints" it by issuing a new debt to someone with new interest attached.

                • (Score: 2) by crafoo on Monday April 15 2019, @12:47AM

                  by crafoo (6639) on Monday April 15 2019, @12:47AM (#829550)

                  Yes, you are correct. This money printing happens when the fed issues loans to the government. This money just comes into existence at this point. It must be payed for at some point with taxes, including interest. Taxes come from tax payers expending time and effort in exchange for money .. which they hand back to the government. for their "free" stuff. The ponzi scheme though is to shift this ever-increasing burden to the next generation or two, and avoid paying it yourself.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @06:38PM (1 child)

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @06:38PM (#829440)

                > Either benefits get cut or the age of retirement gets a big bump; maybe to 80.

                I turn 65 this summer. Wasn't planning to officially retire and start social security for several more years, since I'm healthy (not quite as fit as I'd like) and happily working. Maybe I should consider the above in my retirement planning?

                Anyone else in a similar position? What are your plans?

                • (Score: 1) by r_a_trip on Monday April 15 2019, @08:24AM

                  by r_a_trip (5276) on Monday April 15 2019, @08:24AM (#829735)

                  I'm Dutch and we already had the age bump. It went from 65 years of age to a little shy of 70 years. Since I'm not remotely at retirement age, I will have to factor in that I will have to work till I'm 70. I can only advise to get out at the earliest time you can, before a scribble of the pen either lowers your benefits or elevates your working years. As a pensioner you could always take a "secondary" job.

                  Age bumps are more likely than the lowering of benefits though. Lowering benefits tends to bring about protests. Bumping the age is less contentious, because most people don't realise they do that in the hope that you expire before claiming benefits.

            • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday April 15 2019, @08:33AM

              by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Monday April 15 2019, @08:33AM (#829739) Homepage
              Internationally-dominant currencies tend to only dominate for periods of about 100 years. Maybe the US's term on top is up...
              --
              Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
          • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday April 14 2019, @07:46PM (1 child)

            by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Sunday April 14 2019, @07:46PM (#829465) Homepage
            Nope, idiot.

            I live in a country that has had population decline for decades, and they've worked out the implications of that.

            You may live in an "exponential growth forever" woo-woo land, but not all of us do.
            --
            Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @09:33PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @09:33PM (#829487)

              The sad part is that when the inevitable collapse of the scheme happens, you will blame "capitalism" for your problems. There is just no helping some people, best you can do is plan around them.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 15 2019, @04:29AM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 15 2019, @04:29AM (#829640) Journal

          "organised like a ponzi scheme"

          Fortunately, I live in a land that has figured that part out by promising more than they deliver in the long term.

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:49PM

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:49PM (#829345) Homepage
      I'm reticent to want to make obviously-never-gonna-work commerce illegal. As soon as *lies* are told about how it works, and illegal constraints are imposed on the victims, sure, you've got something that can be prosecuted under a range of offences.

      However, I believe in plenty of countries, for the protection of the less intelligent slices of the population, schemes like this (usually described as there being more potential profit from the recruitment of others into the scheme than from the selling of the product itself) are illegal, and I wouldn't want to demand that such laws got revoked. I'm utilitarian as much as I am anything else.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @03:06AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @03:06AM (#829217)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ponzi_schemes [wikipedia.org]

    The way I see it, getting some bacon back is more than most got when their investments went belly up. And besides, with 90% of the population believing in one form or another of divinity, just because all this "healing pyramids" crap is a scam doesn't mean it won't sell and get a return for the investment.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to return to my highly productive job of writing tax accounting software. Because, you know, I'm totally not a part of the lawyers-accountants-bureaucrats conspiracy to make up increasingly convoluted laws so I'll have a job to do. No broken windows here.

    • (Score: 2) by richtopia on Sunday April 14 2019, @04:13PM (1 child)

      by richtopia (3160) on Sunday April 14 2019, @04:13PM (#829405) Homepage Journal

      This gives me an idea: a Ponzi scheme selling pyramids, but make them religious so in the USA you can seemingly do anything under "religious freedom"

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @11:51PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @11:51PM (#829534)

        Including the freedom to murder people, take your money and say "its in the bible" and "now declare occupied land part of our own" because "its in the bible"?

        I hope not. Never trust khazar jewish rats or their friends/accomplices.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @03:55AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @03:55AM (#829230)

    I seem to recall something in the 70's USA about cardboard pyramids being able to charge batteries and sharpen razor blades.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by aristarchus on Sunday April 14 2019, @10:37AM (3 children)

    by aristarchus (2645) on Sunday April 14 2019, @10:37AM (#829311) Journal

    So the current Secretary of Education of the United States of America, is the wife of the founder and asshole of Amway. Somehow this pyramid scheme has avoided being ruled illegal, but Betsy is doing her best to bring the skills of soap sales to Higher education! So, if you can teach a dozen or so students, they they can go out and find a dozen students of their own, and you will have the exclusive distributieon rights, so you will make millions! Much better than as some feckless lecturer at Phoenix or Corinthian, or Heald, or whatever for profits are still in business! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQLdhVpLBVE [youtube.com] Don't talk to HOWARD!

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:21PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:21PM (#829359)

      I'm not buying your false narrative. Today, like every day, I woke and prayed to GOD to thank him for giving us president TRUMP who is busy cleansing america of her SINS 20 hours per day.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:41PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:41PM (#829362)

        Saw this on the net: "The US is now under control of the White Hats, and though he will have to be incarcerated to protect him from the Klinton Klan, Assange will be treated with kid gloves. The goal is to get him in front of a judge where he will swear UNDER OATH that the source of the DNC leaks was Seth Rich, not some Russian twaddle. The resulting shock waves about his murder, which MSM will not be able to stifle, will crack the foundation of the Deep State and send them scurrying in all directions. They will not recover."

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @07:54PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @07:54PM (#829468)

          You think the Klinton Klan don't have the resources to have him rubbed out in prison?

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