The Age of Socialism
December 30, 2008 | filed in: Politics
In response to a news article about how it costs
cell phone companies very little to deliver text
messages, making it a highly profitable part of
their business, given the rampant texting by
young people, this MacWorld forum was filled with
the kind of comments that are typical of society
these days and are a glimpse into the kind of
liberal/socialist mindset that has me greatly
worried. It was too much for me to ignore, so I
responded:
Reading some of these posts has me weeping for the future of mankind. What a bunch of ignorant, childish, whiners.
Here's a little secret: nobody in business, whether a sole proprietor or a multi-national corporation, prices their products according to the cost of of producing them, if they know what they are doing. Cost is irrelevant to pricing. Pricing is a function of supply and demand. Period. Sometimes, market conditions are such that you have to sell your products at a loss. Sometimes, you can make a bundle. That's the way it goes.
If I find an Babe Ruth baseball card in the attic, my cost is zero. I am obligated to just give it away for zero or little money? I hope to God you are saying to yourself, "No." Regardless of the cost, I am entitled to get what the market will bear. The fact that handling text messages has little variable cost (don't forget though, that there are huge fixed costs of running a cell phone company) is totally irrelevant to the pricing.
There is nothing wrong, much less criminal, with charging what the market will bear. Profit is not dirty. Profit is what all (sane) businesses strive for. Yes, they can strive for other goals too, but without profit, they cease to exist. There is no such thing as "excess profit," unless there you have a true monopoly situation involving product that people cannot reasonably live without. There is plenty of competition in the cell phone market.
Bottom line: if you think it costs too much to text, switch companies. If you can't find a better deal, don't text. It is that simple. Take responsibility for yourself and your actions. Stop looking for some company to blame or some politician to solve your problems.
Anger at cell phone companies? Government investigations? Talk about "obscene profits"? The self-centered, wimpy, business-ignorant nanny-state has truly arrived.
Rant over.
Reading some of these posts has me weeping for the future of mankind. What a bunch of ignorant, childish, whiners.
Here's a little secret: nobody in business, whether a sole proprietor or a multi-national corporation, prices their products according to the cost of of producing them, if they know what they are doing. Cost is irrelevant to pricing. Pricing is a function of supply and demand. Period. Sometimes, market conditions are such that you have to sell your products at a loss. Sometimes, you can make a bundle. That's the way it goes.
If I find an Babe Ruth baseball card in the attic, my cost is zero. I am obligated to just give it away for zero or little money? I hope to God you are saying to yourself, "No." Regardless of the cost, I am entitled to get what the market will bear. The fact that handling text messages has little variable cost (don't forget though, that there are huge fixed costs of running a cell phone company) is totally irrelevant to the pricing.
There is nothing wrong, much less criminal, with charging what the market will bear. Profit is not dirty. Profit is what all (sane) businesses strive for. Yes, they can strive for other goals too, but without profit, they cease to exist. There is no such thing as "excess profit," unless there you have a true monopoly situation involving product that people cannot reasonably live without. There is plenty of competition in the cell phone market.
Bottom line: if you think it costs too much to text, switch companies. If you can't find a better deal, don't text. It is that simple. Take responsibility for yourself and your actions. Stop looking for some company to blame or some politician to solve your problems.
Anger at cell phone companies? Government investigations? Talk about "obscene profits"? The self-centered, wimpy, business-ignorant nanny-state has truly arrived.
Rant over.