Laundrew it appears you have a issue with corporations or just plain old capitolism. One size does not fit all. The prices are what they are. It is your choice to buy or not to buy.
There are other reasons besides greed like corp. taxes, sales tax regulations, trade laws, energy cost, inflation, copyright protection and so on.
For me the movies are a thing of the past. I refuse to pay th $14 to go see a movie. The only way to fight back is not to buy. Competition will correct the market. No sales equal lower prices.
If you think about that you are companing about prices for a luxury of watching movies or listening to your highend system it just dosn't make sense. The teapot calling the kettle black. Hey a smart consumer is the best consumer. Personal choice.
charles
Greetings Charles
A most interesting reply, perhaps we are all immersed in this quagmire of hypocrisy.
I most certainly do have issues with respect to what we now refer to as capitalism. I would offer that capitalism is certainly alive and well with respect to smaller companies and “mom and pop” businesses, but I do not believe that this philosophy applies to larger corporations. I am very concerned as to what I perceive as the slow “de-industrialization” of North America. Manufacturing is moving offshore at an alarming rate and with it, good paying jobs. Eventually, will we only have low paying jobs? Will we have to work a couple of jobs to simply make ends meet?
At one time, I remember hearing our governments commenting on human rights abuses from abroad, it is now very difficult to criticize these entities that now own our collective “pink slips.” On the news last evening, the IMF was recommending that the United States contribute an additional one-half-trillion dollars to this monetary fund – it is truly insane. Long ago, I watched an interview with Margret Thatcher, she was mentioning that they were very concerned when discussing deficits in the billions of dollars and now nobody seems to blink an eye when we are exceeding trillion dollar deficits.
Competition? I really do not see it with respect to Canadian telecommunication giants, automobile manufacturers or our financial systems. For example, one must only look towards bailouts that GM and Chrysler received, in our so-called capitalistic society, should they not of been allowed to “fold” because they were no longer competitive? Was this fair to corporations such as Ford, Toyota or Honda? Canadian banks are intoxicated with profits; TD posted a 4th quarter profit of $1.57B – up almost 60% from last year and CIBC made $3.1B during 2011 – an increase of $600M from the previous year. I would offer that this is another black mark on my soul, as we do own bank stocks, but seriously, where is this all going to end and can we not see the collective writing on the wall?
Are Canadians any better off than their American counterparts with respect to debt loads? I do not believe that we are. I see many of my peers assuming very high debt loads at a time when they are getting close to retirement. One individual just purchased a new, larger home and will now have a mortgage into his seventies – at today’s interest rates. To each their own. I am also very concerned for our seniors; many of these individuals have worked very hard over their life and are extremely vulnerable to cost of living increases while living on fixed incomes. We have been giving a little more to the Salvation Army over the last few years because we see this charity out in the streets helping people in need - no one in North America should go hungry. Our Canadian household average debt load is about 153% to disposable income and our net worth declined by 2.1%. I remember arguing with my bank representative about a ridiculous line of credit that they wanted to give me. I asked her why I would need this amount and she said that I may want to purchase a cottage and it was almost “free” money because of low interest rates.
Yes, you are certainly most correct about the value of my present audio system and I would agree, somewhat “grudgingly” with your observations with respect to the analogy of the kettle – by the way, we use a KEURIG.
I enjoy the performance level of my audio equipment and I considered it an added bonus to support a company that is located only a few hours away. My JBLs were manufactured in the United States, but I now understand that they have moved their production to Mexico – I guess that they wanted higher profits from their speaker production and am curious as to how many individuals lost their jobs. Interestingly enough, we have decided to place Lady Laundrew’s B100 audio system purchase on hold for the next 12 to 18 months to see what happens with the economy. We consider consumer electronics such as audio equipment, TVs and computers as simply “toys” and will not finance these types of purchases.
Thank you for your comments Charles and I certainly agree with and respect many of your astute observations. It is most excellent that we can freely exchange our views as to what may be “near and dear” to us. Perhaps I have an over-simplified or naive outlook on life, but I am very concerned that an economic storm is on the horizon. It is my sincere wish that I am wrong.
Be well…
