points by pocksuppet 1 day ago | 0 comments
It seems like much of the disparity between the West and China isn't about China having some better manufacturing technology. They do, but it's not the real issue. Really it's all about financial imbalances - people get paid less and the rent is lower. In the West we have a huge rent-extraction sector which produces nothing and makes it much harder to afford to start any activity.
[–] za_creature 22 hours ago
[–] 0xbadcafebee 15 hours ago
That's kind of the point of a consumer society; the people's wealth is increasingly consumed until there is no more left.
Defense contractors charge maintenance fees both domestic and abroad. For abroad, the maintenance contract is a requirement of getting the deal passed through congress and is frequently more expensive than the gear itself.
SaaS charge monthly instead of one upfront fee for a well tested product that used to be the norm
Video games similarly have been transitioning to day 1 paid DLCs and monthly fees
Even the movie industry is a subscription now (streaming providers aside). There's not one movie, there's the MCU pumping out 3 movies a year for the last 20. How many movies from last year have a number in their name?
Then there's of course, the actual rents. And insurance. And taxes. Something has to give, but I fear it will be the humans.