Is maximizing profits our highest lawful virtue here in America?
roostershi
Wow, the false logic in the question is that America doesn't have virtue?
Answer
What you - and Sass - fail to realize/understand is that the pursuit of profits provides the greatest good to the greatest number of consumers. I doubt either of you has noticed/acknowledged that Walmart has consistently sought ways to reduce prices which is a great benefit to the consumer and yet have seen their profits increase.
Henry Ford invented the assembly line as we know it and thus reduced the costs of manufacturing cars which meant he could charge less for a car and still increase his profits. He also introduced the 40 hour work week and a wage sufficient for his employees to afford the cars they labored to build.
IBM almost went bankrupt when their management team ignored Bill Gates and his idea for the personal computer in favor of their big profit generating mainframe computers.
With Microsoft, Gates replaced the necessity of buying a computer, choosing an operating system and then buying software that ran on that particular operating system. Microsoft has consistently offered more features and benefits with each successive version of Windows while reducing the cost to the consumer.
The concept of the VTR was invented in California by a small company named Ampex. Their vision was an industrial application for training films. When investment capital failed to materialize they sold the rights to Matsushida Electric Industries Co., LTD (now known as Panasonic). Matsushida's engineers took a different approach and came up with the VCR. Early VCRs sold for close to $2,000.00 when introduced in the early 1970s. By the end of the decade the price was a few hundred dollars. Manufacturers licensed by Matsushida added more and more features and benefits and reduced the prices. A once luxury-priced item became as common as a toaster in the majority of homes.
If, as you and Sass and countless others apparently believe, greed was the driving force then companies would seek to raise their prices without offering the consumer more features and/or benefits. There have been companies that tried this. They're no longer in business.
Suggested reading:
"Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy" and "Economic Facts & Fallacies", both by Thomas Sowell.
WARNING: Reading these books will actually teach you a lot about economics and destroy your liberal biases against capitalism. Just remember: Your mind is like a parachute - it only works when its open.
Sowell's book "The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy" would also help clear your muddled mind of all the liberal nonsense its been filled with.
What you - and Sass - fail to realize/understand is that the pursuit of profits provides the greatest good to the greatest number of consumers. I doubt either of you has noticed/acknowledged that Walmart has consistently sought ways to reduce prices which is a great benefit to the consumer and yet have seen their profits increase.
Henry Ford invented the assembly line as we know it and thus reduced the costs of manufacturing cars which meant he could charge less for a car and still increase his profits. He also introduced the 40 hour work week and a wage sufficient for his employees to afford the cars they labored to build.
IBM almost went bankrupt when their management team ignored Bill Gates and his idea for the personal computer in favor of their big profit generating mainframe computers.
With Microsoft, Gates replaced the necessity of buying a computer, choosing an operating system and then buying software that ran on that particular operating system. Microsoft has consistently offered more features and benefits with each successive version of Windows while reducing the cost to the consumer.
The concept of the VTR was invented in California by a small company named Ampex. Their vision was an industrial application for training films. When investment capital failed to materialize they sold the rights to Matsushida Electric Industries Co., LTD (now known as Panasonic). Matsushida's engineers took a different approach and came up with the VCR. Early VCRs sold for close to $2,000.00 when introduced in the early 1970s. By the end of the decade the price was a few hundred dollars. Manufacturers licensed by Matsushida added more and more features and benefits and reduced the prices. A once luxury-priced item became as common as a toaster in the majority of homes.
If, as you and Sass and countless others apparently believe, greed was the driving force then companies would seek to raise their prices without offering the consumer more features and/or benefits. There have been companies that tried this. They're no longer in business.
Suggested reading:
"Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy" and "Economic Facts & Fallacies", both by Thomas Sowell.
WARNING: Reading these books will actually teach you a lot about economics and destroy your liberal biases against capitalism. Just remember: Your mind is like a parachute - it only works when its open.
Sowell's book "The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy" would also help clear your muddled mind of all the liberal nonsense its been filled with.
What do you think about the new BMW 7-series hybrid?
////M
that car is sweet. look it up if you haven't already heard about it. its got tons of new technology.
Answer
You do realize that a lot of that "new technology" was directly lifted from either Lexus or Mercedes.
First of all, the whole system was copied directly from Lexus, which came out with the world's first luxury hybrids over 5 years ago and the world's first prestige luxury hybrid 3 years ago.
BMW also copied:
8-speed automatic transmission, from Lexus.
Lithium-Ion Battery, from Mercedes-Benz.
Active Night Vision, from Mercedes-Benz.
Pedestrian Detection, from Lexus.
And even though BMW stole technology from both, it still isn't as advanced as the Lexus LS600hL or the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid.
The BMW Active Hybrids may be the "world's most powerful hybrids" right now, but Lexus will always be the world's first luxury hybrids.
You do realize that a lot of that "new technology" was directly lifted from either Lexus or Mercedes.
First of all, the whole system was copied directly from Lexus, which came out with the world's first luxury hybrids over 5 years ago and the world's first prestige luxury hybrid 3 years ago.
BMW also copied:
8-speed automatic transmission, from Lexus.
Lithium-Ion Battery, from Mercedes-Benz.
Active Night Vision, from Mercedes-Benz.
Pedestrian Detection, from Lexus.
And even though BMW stole technology from both, it still isn't as advanced as the Lexus LS600hL or the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid.
The BMW Active Hybrids may be the "world's most powerful hybrids" right now, but Lexus will always be the world's first luxury hybrids.
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