Consumers in the United States purchase between 5.5 and 6 trillion dollars worth of goods and services annually, making the U.S. economy by far the largest in the world. This economy is sometimes called a "free market" economy because, for the most part, the goods and services produced and the prices charged for those goods and services are determined by what consumers want and how much they are willing to pay for it. Except in rare cases of regulated industries, the government does not dictate to producers how much of a product they can make or how much they may charge for the product. Using sophisticated research methodologies, industries determine the consumer demand for a given product and at what price they may sell that product to make the largest possible profit. Marketing experts then develop advertising campaigns to convince consumers to buy their company's product rather...