Chuckanut
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
My pet peeve is people who think that just because the cost of something goes up, a company can and will charge more for it, and we have no choice but to pay up. Or if the cost of making a product goes down a company will automatically lower its prices.
In a Free Market (yes, I admit not all our markets are free) we have competitors, alternative products, and often the option of buying less of something or even doing without.
Price is a function of supply and demand. The cost of producing a good or providing a service is not directly involved in the pricing. (Yes, it will eventually affect the supply.) My cost to make paper clips might be 50 cents each, but I could never get anybody to pay that in our free market. People would buy their pencils from other more efficient suppliers, or they would use pens, or perhaps take notes on their smart phones and iPads. Or maybe invent a new way to write down information.
OTOH, just because I could make great smart phones for $5 each doesn't mean I would sell them for $10. Given the current prices of smartphones, I could easily get $100 for my phone, have plenty of happy customers, and make a ton of money. It works both ways.
All of this assumes a free market, level playing field - something we do not always have, I admit.
In a Free Market (yes, I admit not all our markets are free) we have competitors, alternative products, and often the option of buying less of something or even doing without.
Price is a function of supply and demand. The cost of producing a good or providing a service is not directly involved in the pricing. (Yes, it will eventually affect the supply.) My cost to make paper clips might be 50 cents each, but I could never get anybody to pay that in our free market. People would buy their pencils from other more efficient suppliers, or they would use pens, or perhaps take notes on their smart phones and iPads. Or maybe invent a new way to write down information.
OTOH, just because I could make great smart phones for $5 each doesn't mean I would sell them for $10. Given the current prices of smartphones, I could easily get $100 for my phone, have plenty of happy customers, and make a ton of money. It works both ways.
All of this assumes a free market, level playing field - something we do not always have, I admit.