Supply and demand is not a new concept, but it seems some doofusses haven’t a clue. Why else would the most popular toys be chronically out of stock, or medical supplies in insufficient quantities to meet the needs of the persons who have to have them?
Truth is, suppliers don’t care about demand if their pockets don’t suffer.
Fortunately for me, I don’t have a single Apple product or a video game console, so I haven’t been caught in the loop of trading in (or ditching) the old thing–be it a phone or the last incarnation of Super Duper Brothers– for the newer model, but this seems to be an annual ritual for many people. The manufacturers love that.
I have always used the “marlin fishing in Florida” concept as a measure of wealth, and I frequently imagine seeing the fellows from these companies out in the briny deep aboard a yacht. I hate boating in general, but that’s beside the point. If the measure of our worth is to pad somebody else’s wealth, what does that say about our sense of finance?
True, I guess I’m a bit of a lost cause, since my television is seven years old and has been fixed once under warranty, and (again) I own nothing Apple. The idea of walking around with an $800 piece of equipment, for which I would have to buy another accessory just to hold it comfortably up to my ear, just doesn’t thrill me.
The demand for holiday gifts meant shortages and delays for many over the holidays. People ran out of luck because the number of items was controlled and black market sellers, buying in bulk, plucked more cash out of some desperate people’s wallets. Some holiday packages–even those not carrying new phones or gaming consoles–are still hung up in little town delivery stations all over the country, yet I haven’t heard of somebody dying because they didn’t get a Joy Junction game system or whatever under their tree this year. It will either be broken two weeks in, or obsolete by May. The manufacturers like that, too.
Eventually I know I will have to catch up with the times, but if those times mean shortages and padded price tags, I’m in no hurry. What is important right now is to make sure there are vials of immunity-boosting drugs to get us out of last year’s pestilence within a couple more months. Some say doses are available but not being distributed, while others say there is still a shortage of what is needed to get the whole country immune, but there have already been reports of black market line-jumping, when we should be pushing our first responders to the front of any line we can get them into.
Demand is a powerful word, but we should remember that some folks have less than nothing and are begging please instead. They don’t want a new $800 phone; just some food or a place to live.
The cycle goes on only as long as people cave to what the industry tries to push onto us. Not keeping up with the Joneses can help your wallet, while smart spending will continue to boost the economy. Since we’re only two days into the year, we will see what happens. Meanwhile, remember that the first holiday bills are in the mail, heaven help us all.
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