That's a poor analogy, since flatscreens aren't state-mandated (nor have a mandated value-increasing component). A better analogy would be catalytic converters

That's a poor analogy, since flatscreens aren't state-mandated (nor have a mandated value-increasing component). A better analogy would be catalytic converters, which increase the loss when a car is stolen, since there's a significant quantity of precious metal up the tailpipe. Perhaps an even better analogy (since it provides a direct safety benefit to the purchaser) is that of airbags. For a while, they created an attractive break-in/theft target on their own, due to their very high value to size/weight ratio. I'm pretty sure that was an unintended consequence, too.