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This article pushes the idea that this is not just for people planing to leave soon but for anyone who wants to live the luxury life which is just ridiculous. A

This article pushes the idea that this is not just for people planing to leave soon but for anyone who wants to live the luxury life which is just ridiculous. Also megacorps have been pushing for this as well, for example the trend to pay a huge monthly fee for your phone and plan which forces you to essentially buy a new phone every 2 years.

lotsofpulp 7y ago
What definition of “force” are you using? What is stopping someone from finishing paying the monthly cost of the phone after 2 years and then not signing a new contract to lease a new phone? Every single mobile provider in the US makes it clear how much mobile service is if you want to pay for just the mobile network, or to lease the phone and the mobile network. Apple offers a monthly payment plan that is equivalent in cost to paying upfront for the same phone and AppleCare+. All of the information is clearly available for the lease vs pay upfront, and mobile network vs mobile network + phone calculation.
- RandomBacon 7y ago
  > What definition... The one that people who make poor financial decisions use. The service providers didn't automatically drop your monthly rate after you the subsidized phone was paid off, so people felt like they might as well get a new phone since they were paying for it anyway. > What is stopping... Nothing except that people don't know any better. Tell everyone you know (without being annoying) how much you pay for unlimited by using a prepaid plan on your top-of-the-line phone. Maybe they'll start to learn. I've already switched a few people, you can too.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    That situation is pretty far from any useful definition of force, in my opinion. If people are too lazy to do some basic arithmetic, that’s their problem.
    - RandomBacon 7y ago
      Me too, unfortunately I know too many people who would call that being forced.

lotsofpulp 7y ago

What definition of “force” are you using? What is stopping someone from finishing paying the monthly cost of the phone after 2 years and then not signing a new contract to lease a new phone? Every single mobile provider in the US makes it clear how much mobile service is if you want to pay for just the mobile network, or to lease the phone and the mobile network. Apple offers a monthly payment plan that is equivalent in cost to paying upfront for the same phone and AppleCare+. All of the information is clearly available for the lease vs pay upfront, and mobile network vs mobile network + phone calculation.

RandomBacon 7y ago
> What definition... The one that people who make poor financial decisions use. The service providers didn't automatically drop your monthly rate after you the subsidized phone was paid off, so people felt like they might as well get a new phone since they were paying for it anyway. > What is stopping... Nothing except that people don't know any better. Tell everyone you know (without being annoying) how much you pay for unlimited by using a prepaid plan on your top-of-the-line phone. Maybe they'll start to learn. I've already switched a few people, you can too.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  That situation is pretty far from any useful definition of force, in my opinion. If people are too lazy to do some basic arithmetic, that’s their problem.
  - RandomBacon 7y ago
    Me too, unfortunately I know too many people who would call that being forced.