We need a bad economy....

......to stop the rape of the American consumer.  I'm not thrilled with the dismal report on the economy that we get on the news each night.  It's like Brian Williams is wearing a "The End Is Near!" sandwitch board by the side of the freeway.  But I'm trying to see the silver lining in all of this - prices will fall.

In good times manufacturers and service companies can set their own prices and impose random fees to generate extra money.  They don't get much kick back because everyone has the money and doesn't care enough to dispute it.  Cell phone companies have finally "created" an unlimited talking plan.  It's still priced to the top 15% of their consumers - but you can't add minutes to unlimited, so now the price must be driven down.  Maybe we'll even see the end of the excessive activation fees.

Pharmaceutical companies have been riding high for a while.  And while that won't stop any time soon consumers can now purchase low cost generics at most pharmacies and Walmart.  I understand that the corps. must pay for R&D and marketing but a pill that is just .001oz of powder shouldn't cost an old lady $200 a month to stay alive.  More and more competition will begin to fill the 3rd tier and will result in more options and lower prices for consumers.

Maybe this recession will begin to hit the broadband companies who have choked off the bandwith in the interest of extreme profits.  Should high speed internet still be a luxury for so many people?  Especially those in rural areas that the larger companies refuse to service because of low profit margins?  I'll take a tangent here - I would love to see the FCC resume talks of acutioning off a part of the spectrum to provide free broadband (768kbs).  Not only would it help push progress further by making a more inclusive community, but it would force companies to provide more incentives and cheaper prices for their services.  I'll admit I'm biased, I pay $20 a month for 768kbs down and it is just enough to get by on. 

LCD manufacturers are finally starting to see their magic pony ride come to an end.  The economic forcast shows LCD sales falling for the first time - again driving prices down.  We all need to take a moment to thank Olivea, Vizeo, Element and the others who produced sets that weren't marked up 5000% and forced the larger manufacturers to stop pulling our pants down and boinking us from behind.  Granted, Sony keeps adding consanants to their sets in an attempt to keep astronomical markups, but by and large we have seen a reduction in price that will only continue as the economy goes down the shitter.

It is a painful process now but this economic strain will put strain on the supply lines of companies and force them to become more efficent.  They will begin to cut the frivilous costs and fees to entice consumers and may even consider improving customer service.  So let's all smile and look forward to the excellent shopping opportunites that we will have when we find a good job, or get out of bankruptcy or get our homes out of foreclosure.