theclemsonkid
Member
Lately here in Ohio, the running thing to complain about is how there are just oh so many potholes from this past winter. This is true. There is no arguing here. Some are like mini Grand Canyons. It's bad.
One of my customers brought up a point, which I thought most people kind of knew and understood. However, when I explained it to him, he acted like I was on meth.
To summarize, I basically told him that almost everything, from roads to tires, mattresses to automobiles; are built specifically not to last. I then told him the reason is two fold. One, if you can build something cheaper, and force people to replace them often, it makes great sense financially for the business owner. And the other big thing, that I think some people overlook, are all the jobs and careers associated with these items.
Let's say in a dream world, cars were built to last 20 years, roads were engineered to never breakdown, and your tires never lost their tread. Would that be awesome for the consumer? Sure.
However, there would be almost no jobs. Not that there is much manufacturing left here in the States, but imagine if the small amount that was here had its workforce reduced by 95%.
So while driving through these potholes sucks, it's a catch 22, because everything from the people who manufacture the shovels and trucks, to the guys that mix the repair compound, to the city workers who fix them, to the gas industry who fuels the trucks, etc...
It's a huge infrastructure of workers and money that this country couldn't function without.
Can you imagine what would happen to this country if everything was built to last?!? Yikes.
One of my customers brought up a point, which I thought most people kind of knew and understood. However, when I explained it to him, he acted like I was on meth.
To summarize, I basically told him that almost everything, from roads to tires, mattresses to automobiles; are built specifically not to last. I then told him the reason is two fold. One, if you can build something cheaper, and force people to replace them often, it makes great sense financially for the business owner. And the other big thing, that I think some people overlook, are all the jobs and careers associated with these items.
Let's say in a dream world, cars were built to last 20 years, roads were engineered to never breakdown, and your tires never lost their tread. Would that be awesome for the consumer? Sure.
However, there would be almost no jobs. Not that there is much manufacturing left here in the States, but imagine if the small amount that was here had its workforce reduced by 95%.
So while driving through these potholes sucks, it's a catch 22, because everything from the people who manufacture the shovels and trucks, to the guys that mix the repair compound, to the city workers who fix them, to the gas industry who fuels the trucks, etc...
It's a huge infrastructure of workers and money that this country couldn't function without.
Can you imagine what would happen to this country if everything was built to last?!? Yikes.
