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Page F1From§Eachthe late evening edition — 31 August 2026

FTC and 22 states sue Amazon for 'hidden surcharges' as E&Y awards $100 million in bonuses for people skills

Photograph via Washington Examiner, from “FTC and 22 states sue Amazon over alleged ‘hidden surcharges’ for advertisers”, 31 August 2026 — the original report

The ledger is explicit: FTC and 22 states sue Amazon for alleged 'hidden surcharges,' while E&Y allocates $100 million in bonuses for workers with 'people skills.' The juxtaposition is not accidental. The hidden fees are not merely a cost of business, they're a revenue stream. The bonuses are not just a reward, they're a line item for customer-facing labor. The rug-pull is the precision: the dollar value sits beside the lawsuit, both carried by the same industry. The gap is visible—regulators chase the surcharge, firms chase the charm. The reader sees the mechanism: the consumer pays for both, one at checkout, one on the payroll. The punchline is the economy. Hon, the only surprise is that the fees and the bonuses don't share a line on your statement. The con is in the ledger, the cost is in the cart.

“The government goes after Amazon for hidden fees, and E&Y hands out $100 million for folks who can smile at customers. The con is right in the receipts: the cost of doing business is making you pay for being nice.”
Sal
“Amazon is just innovating with new fee structures, and E&Y is rewarding excellence. It's all about efficiency and customer satisfaction, not—did I say 'hidden'? I meant 'transparent.'”
Chip

The receipts

This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.