OSH;1221557 wrote:I have no problem with someone making a buck.
I do have a problem with raping people though. The price at which we have to pay for certain products, clothing, food, healthcare, or whatever has gotten so outrageous though. The usual mark-up on a product is 50% or even 100% (i.e., something that costs $50 to make will be cost $100 to buy). But, with things now, that mark-up is WAY over 100%. That is gouging -- and stupid people buy it.
Oh well. It has gotten me this far. I'll be fine staying away from certain corporations.
There's more cost than just manufacturing. There's shipping, warehousing, logistics, advertising, promotions, etc.
I mean, even if you are in your basement tinkering, you're still in a house you paid for that provides you shelter, warehousing, inventory control, utilities, etc. You probably have a car that you're using to take the product out to market and demonstrate it, etc.
You still are inheriting a cost, you're just absorbing it into what you're already paying and assuming it's at no cost.
As for corporations, the problem is that the US Supreme Court has said they're equal to people and have the rights of people. Yet, people can buy them, sell them, kill them, etc without repercussion. Either they're equal to people, or they're not. They're not supposed to be, and never were supposed to be, 'super humans'.
The problem with corporations is no personal responsibility. The removal of liability by the people making the decisions, financially, is the biggest issue I have with corporations. Sure, corruption can be prosecuted (Enron, Adelphia, etc), but making every decision because you might squeeze another dollar out of the machine doesn't mean it's the right thing, as people, to let be done to the world.
If polluting the world was cheaper than storing and disposing of waste, a corporation will do it. There's a reason the non-union mines in WV refuse to institute safety issues and crush any union talk, yet they're the ones with the most fatalities. Just the cost of doing business.