cablechewer
Distinguished
- Nov 12, 2008
- 46
- 0
- 18,580
Alex government does have a role to play. They need to nudge and encourage companies to act in the way their constituents want. If the citizens want environmental concerns addressed, efficiency in the delivery of products, reduced packaging they often need their government to intervene on their behalf because business is only interested in doing what is financially efficient.
Leaving things up to business and the market is a common mantra in certain countries. However it does not work unless the market is diverse enough to foster real competition. I think the North American cell phone markets could benefit a great deal if governments mandated that all phones be sold unlocked. Carriers would then compete based on price, coverage, reliability and performance. If consumers can't afford the phone they want then it could be amortized over 12 or 24 months with a separate charge on their monthly bill (a charge that would go away when the phone was paid off). Personally I think it would make the industry more transparent and offer consumers a lot more choice. However this is an example of a situation where the companies dominating these markets will be reluctant to go this route because they will not be able to lock in consumers the way they do today. If people really want this freedom governments will have to force companies into it.
I do not know if standardizing chargers will truly reduce what goes to land fill and costs for the consumer, but I like the idea of buying the charger separately so that I only acquire one if I need it. Hopefully the standard they pick for chargers will be stable for a number of years so that people don't need to replace them all every 2-3 years.
Leaving things up to business and the market is a common mantra in certain countries. However it does not work unless the market is diverse enough to foster real competition. I think the North American cell phone markets could benefit a great deal if governments mandated that all phones be sold unlocked. Carriers would then compete based on price, coverage, reliability and performance. If consumers can't afford the phone they want then it could be amortized over 12 or 24 months with a separate charge on their monthly bill (a charge that would go away when the phone was paid off). Personally I think it would make the industry more transparent and offer consumers a lot more choice. However this is an example of a situation where the companies dominating these markets will be reluctant to go this route because they will not be able to lock in consumers the way they do today. If people really want this freedom governments will have to force companies into it.
I do not know if standardizing chargers will truly reduce what goes to land fill and costs for the consumer, but I like the idea of buying the charger separately so that I only acquire one if I need it. Hopefully the standard they pick for chargers will be stable for a number of years so that people don't need to replace them all every 2-3 years.
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