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> The Ford maxim still applies. You have to pay your workforce enough to buy the products that they make for you. Which is why it's very hard to get access to

> The Ford maxim still applies. You have to pay your workforce enough to buy the products that they make for you. Which is why it's very hard to get access to high-quality manufactured goods at any price point. By directly screwing the bottom third of the workforce, the economy crappyfied itself and screwed all but the very, very top of their members. Now wonder the retro fashion is all over the place now.

sokoloff 11y ago
Really? I believe that the top 25% "quality" products in most market segments are better than they've ever been (and usually cheaper as well). A 2016 Toyota Camry is higher quality than a 1986 Mercedes was in 1986. A 2016 Macbook is higher quality than any 2006 laptop was in 2006. I can buy a high-quality dishwasher from Bosch, a high-quality washing machine from LG, a high-quality mini-split from any number of suppliers. And all of those things are more affordable than they've ever been. I agree that fewer things are lifetime user-serviceable (for most users), but that's a different thing than inherent quality (which is roughly proxied by: how long do I expect it to reliably work without repair?). If my TV is beyond economic repair the first time it breaks, but it doesn't break for 10 years, I'm way ahead of the game as compared to the old days when I took vacuum tubes to the town radio repair shop for testing to determine which one I should replace.
- huherto 11y ago
  > Really? I believe that the top 25% "quality" products in most market segments are better than they've ever been (and usually cheaper as well). Agree. We can get quality things that are pretty inexpensive. But housing became very unaffordable. A big part of our income goes to housing. That means, we spend less money buying things. Furthermore, we don't have enough money to go out. (bars, restaurants, generally services)

sokoloff 11y ago

Really? I believe that the top 25% "quality" products in most market segments are better than they've ever been (and usually cheaper as well). A 2016 Toyota Camry is higher quality than a 1986 Mercedes was in 1986. A 2016 Macbook is higher quality than any 2006 laptop was in 2006. I can buy a high-quality dishwasher from Bosch, a high-quality washing machine from LG, a high-quality mini-split from any number of suppliers. And all of those things are more affordable than they've ever been. I agree that fewer things are lifetime user-serviceable (for most users), but that's a different thing than inherent quality (which is roughly proxied by: how long do I expect it to reliably work without repair?). If my TV is beyond economic repair the first time it breaks, but it doesn't break for 10 years, I'm way ahead of the game as compared to the old days when I took vacuum tubes to the town radio repair shop for testing to determine which one I should replace.

huherto 11y ago
> Really? I believe that the top 25% "quality" products in most market segments are better than they've ever been (and usually cheaper as well). Agree. We can get quality things that are pretty inexpensive. But housing became very unaffordable. A big part of our income goes to housing. That means, we spend less money buying things. Furthermore, we don't have enough money to go out. (bars, restaurants, generally services)