Genuine Help Vs. Exploitation

I had a recent exchange of e-mails with someone who wrote:

“39 dollars for a book that proclaims itself to be a way out of depression and feelings of worthlessness for unemployed people?

Tell me: what does a PsyD know about unemployment and low-self-worth?

This price tag is atrocious.

You are victimizing the unemployed, the societal outsider, and I do not appreciate it.”

After my initial response, he wrote back: “I can’t say I expected any less than what you’ve given… a total dismissal of my opinion. Do you see no injustice in the “Catch 22” of expensive “ways out” of financial difficulty?”

The gentleman raises a very interesting question. Is there something inherently exploitative about selling a product or a service to individuals who are in a place of great need and few resources?

There is a common expression in marketing: “Don’t try selling boxes to the homeless.” Why? Because they obviously have no money, that’s why they are homeless. Sales need to be geared to a more lucrative market and demographic distribution charts are developed...