A new book by Groundwork’s Lindsay Owens
Gouged
The End of a Fair Price – and What That Means for Your Wallet
Available September 29, 2026
About the book
A searing exposé of the new tools of corporate profiteering and a field guide to the deceptive tactics companies are using to cheat consumers out of their money – and how we can get ahead of them – from a leading voice in economic policy and executive director of a corporate watchdog think tank
Everywhere you turn, Americans are getting ripped off: Online ticket sellers hide behind exorbitant extra fees. Landlords use software to band together and organize artificial rent hikes. Ride-sharing apps spike the fare when it rains. And car companies install software that reports your driving behavior to insurance companies so that they can hike your premiums.
Surveillance pricing, algorithmic price fixing, and other high-tech forms of price gouging are the latest frontiers in corporate profiteering – and they’re gutting the American economy and your wallet.
In Gouged, economics expert and veteran consumer advocate Lindsay Owens takes us inside the corporate boardrooms where pricing decisions are made, uncovering the tricks, traps, and grifts corporations use to jack up the price you pay at checkout. From data collection to drone surveillance, modern technology provides companies a staggering arsenal of sophisticated tools to squeeze as much money out of consumers as possible, resulting in record profits.
Drawing on original reporting, shareholder meeting transcripts, and rigorous economic analysis, Owens takes aim at Big Tech behemoths, airlines, health insurance companies, and others to pull back the curtain on how price gougers are coming for almost every line item in your household budget, from doctor visits to rent, groceries to diapers, and even your summer vacation.
Gouged arms us with the essential knowledge we need to first recognize, then sidestep the traps that corporations try to conceal from us. In a world where price gouging has become ubiquitous, Gouged is necessary reading for anyone looking to stay an informed consumer, save money rather than surrender it to greedy CEOs, and stand up for fair prices in America.
On sale September 29, 2026
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Early acclaim
Praise for Gouged
“Lindsay Owens has written a thrilling true crime story about how the largest corporate monopolies in America have hatched a scheme to pick our pockets. Gouged is the book corporate America does not want you to read.”
“Gouged is a must-read for anyone wondering how everything got so damn expensive and who is profiting off your misery. This book is for students renting their first apartment, parents trying to feed their families, travelers paying way too much to fly, and consumers getting ripped off at every turn by AI-fueled pricing schemes.”
“Gouged uncovers a hidden cause of the affordability crisis: algorithms that set prices, which often means tailoring the price for individuals and fixing the price across markets. Corporate greed is nothing new; what’s new is the technology that has made competition, fairness, and transparency obsolete.”
“Ever have the sneaking suspicion that you’re paying more for something online than you should be, or than your neighbor is? You probably are. And you should be outraged. Lindsay Owens tells us how we got here and what we should do about it. Required reading for all American consumers and policymakers.”
“Too much of American business now depends on bilking customers when they are weakest, and gouging has gone from an occasional outrage to a constant aggravation. Lindsay Owens’s fascinating, engaging, and often enraging book will leave you wondering how we let things get this bad and why we can’t do better.”
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