New Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Furniture and Tires Will All Have to Last Longer, Europe Mandates
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Oh look! So much progress is being made since USA embargoed itself!
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they are truly junk. the only goal of American industry, it seems, is to make more money than ever.
Always has been.
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And work without apps.
They should just force them to open the API, this would be sufficient in most cases.
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Britain (where I live) left the EU because lots of people where unhappy and Leave ran a much better campaign that Remain (and lied a couple of times). Racism probably also had something to do with it but that's hard to prove.
It wasn't really about markets because most voters don't know enough about them to decide based on them.
Most voters rely on the campaign communications which was not equally good. Is it too far fetched to think that Remain was intentionally bad?
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Allow people to finance the products over the entire expected lifetime.
So you want to capture regulation in the name of the banks and whatever presumably private (because markets!!!11) agency does the life expectancy rating while simultaneously letting the manufacturers off the hook warranty-wise. Got you.
Some people speculated that Britain left the EU because they believe in markets whereas many EU countries don’t.
Those people are stupid. At least in so far as "they" refers to Britons at large. If with "they" you mean certain nobs and posh folks and with "market" you mean "offshore tax havens" then you have a point.
Brexit was pushed for by Atlas network members, notably against opposition from Atlas members from anywhere else in the world, right before the EU started tightening regulations on tax havens. Coincidence? You tell me. The rest of those neoliberal fucks rather pay taxes than burn the cake they're eating.
We will see in 20 years if the EU can stay on top of its regulations.
The EU commission, back then in the form of the ECSC High Authority, has been doing this stuff since 1952. All European post-war prosperity is based on this kind of approach. Details differ but by and large the European economical policy is ordoliberal.
Manufacturers are not off the hook. If they are not reliable then the expected runtime is low and their monthly payments go up.
the European economical policy is ordoliberal
Without Britain, it could become more ordo than liberal.
We don't have to prevent this regulation. However we should prepare ourselves to prevent the appliance market to become like the housing market. Citizens are unable to make a change there. That shouldn't be ignored when other markets are regulated more.
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Manufacturers are not off the hook. If they are not reliable then the expected runtime is low and their monthly payments go up.
the European economical policy is ordoliberal
Without Britain, it could become more ordo than liberal.
We don't have to prevent this regulation. However we should prepare ourselves to prevent the appliance market to become like the housing market. Citizens are unable to make a change there. That shouldn't be ignored when other markets are regulated more.
Manufacturers are not off the hook. If they are not reliable then the expected runtime is low and their monthly payments go up.
If you're a manufacturer and you're not sure whether your product can last 10 years then you're free to contact an insurer and hash something out with them. Still, the buck stops with the manufacturer everything else is pointless bureaucracy. Shit broke? Manufacturer is on the hook, replace it. Simple as that. Not "customer now has to deal with a bank and the manufacturer and a rating agency".
However we should prepare ourselves to prevent the appliance market to become like the housing market.
I don't see much speculative capital flowing into home appliance rentals and turning regular home appliance rentals into short-term high-profit rentals.
There's not even an oversupply of luxury appliances at the expense of reasonably-priced ones.
Quite literally nothing about the housing market issue has anything to do with what's going on on the home appliance one, or with overregulation. Sure, in places there's regulations to re-think or even straight abolish, e.g. parking minimums, but generally building codes don't make stuff more expensive. Least of all on a macroeconomic level. The issue, for a long time, were ROI expectations of investors. It's a general problem in the economy: Too many rich fucks with too much money, not knowing what to do with it, where to invest it, but still wanting their 8% because... why. They're already filthily rich.
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I've heard this from service techs who have worked on my refrigerator and dishwasher - major appliances in America last a third as long as they did 10 or 15 years ago.
My washing machine is around 25 years old. Not giving it up till its absolutely done haha. But since parts are relatively available, it might just be a few more years.
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Back to the good old days when products were of higher quality. What a concept.
And to a world where repairing is both possible and feasible.
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Oh look! So much progress is being made since USA embargoed itself!
I know this is a joke, but it is important to point out for others that such policies get years to be designed, discussed and published in the EU.
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Manufacturers are not off the hook. If they are not reliable then the expected runtime is low and their monthly payments go up.
If you're a manufacturer and you're not sure whether your product can last 10 years then you're free to contact an insurer and hash something out with them. Still, the buck stops with the manufacturer everything else is pointless bureaucracy. Shit broke? Manufacturer is on the hook, replace it. Simple as that. Not "customer now has to deal with a bank and the manufacturer and a rating agency".
However we should prepare ourselves to prevent the appliance market to become like the housing market.
I don't see much speculative capital flowing into home appliance rentals and turning regular home appliance rentals into short-term high-profit rentals.
There's not even an oversupply of luxury appliances at the expense of reasonably-priced ones.
Quite literally nothing about the housing market issue has anything to do with what's going on on the home appliance one, or with overregulation. Sure, in places there's regulations to re-think or even straight abolish, e.g. parking minimums, but generally building codes don't make stuff more expensive. Least of all on a macroeconomic level. The issue, for a long time, were ROI expectations of investors. It's a general problem in the economy: Too many rich fucks with too much money, not knowing what to do with it, where to invest it, but still wanting their 8% because... why. They're already filthily rich.
The main bottleneck for the housing market is land in areas where people want to live. People have to pay whatever they can to live close to their work. If demand is so big, of course only housing with the highest margins is developed, which is the luxery market.
The speculative capital is flowing because the high demand keeps prices stable. If there would be a surplus to the point that the speculative capital doesn't find a buyer when selling, prices would be much lower.
The backing for the high prices are the real tenants though who want to live where they work.Appliances don't need the speculative capital to become expensive. It is enough if there is less competition. Then customers can't 'move' to other products and have to pay whatever is demanded.
If the requirements stay limited to an extended warranty then things can remain competitive but I doubt that the regulations will end there. This should take cheap Chinese brands off the market that don't have a support network in Europe. That's good for nature, but it removes the cheap options off the market which will allow the market to rise the prices for the cheapest durable goods.
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The spirit is willing, but the machine is spongy and bruised.
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I know this is a joke, but it is important to point out for others that such policies get years to be designed, discussed and published in the EU.
And this law came into effect last July
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Longer means more forever chemicals
Do you even know what forever chemicals are or do you think they're a magic thing that are added to machines to make them last longer?
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Aren't led "bulbs" really durable? I'm using mostly led and feel like they last longer because they don't heat up and cool down as bad..
Sure? Not really the thing I'm getting at though.
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The main bottleneck for the housing market is land in areas where people want to live. People have to pay whatever they can to live close to their work. If demand is so big, of course only housing with the highest margins is developed, which is the luxery market.
The speculative capital is flowing because the high demand keeps prices stable. If there would be a surplus to the point that the speculative capital doesn't find a buyer when selling, prices would be much lower.
The backing for the high prices are the real tenants though who want to live where they work.Appliances don't need the speculative capital to become expensive. It is enough if there is less competition. Then customers can't 'move' to other products and have to pay whatever is demanded.
If the requirements stay limited to an extended warranty then things can remain competitive but I doubt that the regulations will end there. This should take cheap Chinese brands off the market that don't have a support network in Europe. That's good for nature, but it removes the cheap options off the market which will allow the market to rise the prices for the cheapest durable goods.
If demand is so big, of course only housing with the highest margins is developed, which is the luxery market.
BS. There's no market for overpriced accommodation which developers finally understood so they're dialling it down. Took them long enough.
If there would be a surplus to the point that the speculative capital doesn’t find a buyer when selling, prices would be much lower.
It's not about not finding a buyer. It's about finding a buyer that meets their ROI demands, otherwise they're happy to just let properties sit idle. That's the "speculation" part.
Again, the solution is regulation in the form of taxing vacant property. Can't find a tenant, you say? City will be happy to provide you with one, straight off the top of the waiting list for social housing. Not the price range you want to rent for? Well, then you can pay taxes until you think otherwise.
In the end, money is power. If you don't want all the power to end up with whoever happens to have money you gotta stomp people with money at some point or the other. When they whine, tell them they should become better business people, not invest in such stupid schemes as trying to turn a working class neighbourhood into accommodation for billionaires.
This should take cheap Chinese brands off the market that don’t have a support network in Europe.
Turkish, more like, China isn't really in the market here and Beko rules the low end. Still, two years warranty instead of the one year that's the legal minimum.
And honestly, 120 Euro fridges turning into 150 Euros fridges would be a good thing. Building things in a solid way is a different thing than blinging it out: Don't push designers to get rid of the fourth bolt for the attachment plate, don't save fifty cents by buying cheap lubricant, penny pinching is a disease. May increase GDP in the broken window way but who the hell wants that.
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Longer means more forever chemicals
Not necessarily, you can use more steel, stronger parts. And if forever chemicals become a problem, you can regulate them just like with everything else. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.
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I've heard this from service techs who have worked on my refrigerator and dishwasher - major appliances in America last a third as long as they did 10 or 15 years ago.
I can tell you from firsthand experience it's even worse than that. I had a washer that lasted me damn near 20 years that was made in the 90s. Finally decided to get a new set from Samsung. Made it just past warranty, or basically 1 year. The repair would have cost as much as the washer was new. Similar experience with an LG fridge. Bought it and the ice machine broke in it, TWICE, within the first year. Fuck these brands and their established hold on the market.
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The spirit is willing, but the machine is spongy and bruised.
Bullshit. My aunt has a washing machine with all knobs and switches that's probably 30+ years old and it still works fine.
They need to stop putting all these digital components into washing machines or make the boards standardized so they can be easily swapped out. These aren't laptops that you toss after 3-5 years. Appliances should last 10-20 years.
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If demand is so big, of course only housing with the highest margins is developed, which is the luxery market.
BS. There's no market for overpriced accommodation which developers finally understood so they're dialling it down. Took them long enough.
If there would be a surplus to the point that the speculative capital doesn’t find a buyer when selling, prices would be much lower.
It's not about not finding a buyer. It's about finding a buyer that meets their ROI demands, otherwise they're happy to just let properties sit idle. That's the "speculation" part.
Again, the solution is regulation in the form of taxing vacant property. Can't find a tenant, you say? City will be happy to provide you with one, straight off the top of the waiting list for social housing. Not the price range you want to rent for? Well, then you can pay taxes until you think otherwise.
In the end, money is power. If you don't want all the power to end up with whoever happens to have money you gotta stomp people with money at some point or the other. When they whine, tell them they should become better business people, not invest in such stupid schemes as trying to turn a working class neighbourhood into accommodation for billionaires.
This should take cheap Chinese brands off the market that don’t have a support network in Europe.
Turkish, more like, China isn't really in the market here and Beko rules the low end. Still, two years warranty instead of the one year that's the legal minimum.
And honestly, 120 Euro fridges turning into 150 Euros fridges would be a good thing. Building things in a solid way is a different thing than blinging it out: Don't push designers to get rid of the fourth bolt for the attachment plate, don't save fifty cents by buying cheap lubricant, penny pinching is a disease. May increase GDP in the broken window way but who the hell wants that.
That’s the “speculation” part.
A surplus in supply would threaten them with an infinite time to wait for their target ROI.
the solution is regulation in the form of taxing vacant property
fully agree
If you don’t want all the power to end up with whoever happens to have money you gotta stomp people with money at some point or the other
Fiat currency. Public banks can hand out credits to whomever wants to build with a solid calculation.
If you don’t want all the power to end up with whoever happens to have money you gotta stomp people with money at some point or the other
You tax them. Of course only possible if the masses are not manipulated. Drones and AI, stomping would only be possible for something like 5 more years. Afterwards there is not much more power left.
120 Euro fridges turning into 150 Euros fridges
More like 120 Euro fridges leave the market and 150 Euro fridges cost 200 Euros.
Building things in a solid way is a different thing than blinging it out: Don’t push designers to get rid of the fourth bolt for the attachment plate, don’t save fifty cents by buying cheap lubricant
I want to live in a society where people choose the solid products on their own. Everything else calls for trouble down the line.
May increase GDP in the broken window way but who the hell wants that.
I don't undderstand that.
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That’s the “speculation” part.
A surplus in supply would threaten them with an infinite time to wait for their target ROI.
the solution is regulation in the form of taxing vacant property
fully agree
If you don’t want all the power to end up with whoever happens to have money you gotta stomp people with money at some point or the other
Fiat currency. Public banks can hand out credits to whomever wants to build with a solid calculation.
If you don’t want all the power to end up with whoever happens to have money you gotta stomp people with money at some point or the other
You tax them. Of course only possible if the masses are not manipulated. Drones and AI, stomping would only be possible for something like 5 more years. Afterwards there is not much more power left.
120 Euro fridges turning into 150 Euros fridges
More like 120 Euro fridges leave the market and 150 Euro fridges cost 200 Euros.
Building things in a solid way is a different thing than blinging it out: Don’t push designers to get rid of the fourth bolt for the attachment plate, don’t save fifty cents by buying cheap lubricant
I want to live in a society where people choose the solid products on their own. Everything else calls for trouble down the line.
May increase GDP in the broken window way but who the hell wants that.
I don't undderstand that.
A surplus in supply would threaten them with an infinite time to wait for their target ROI.
Dindingding winner winner chicken dinner. That's exactly what's happening. Question still being why such stuff should be allowed in the first place, why should ordinary folks have trouble getting apartments just so that some rich fucks can try to make profit.
Fiat currency. Public banks can hand out credits to whomever wants to build with a solid calculation.
You can't just print money because inflation. That said, yes, public banks are absolutely able and willing and happy to invest in housing projects. It's how e.g. these folks get much of their money. Things get difficult though when there's speculators throwing money around, artificially increasing property, land, and construction prices. Public and cooperative banks are generally happy if your project earns enough rent to finance their fixed-term deposit rates but with inflated costs earning that rate means inflating rents and then you again might be out of people who can afford it.
Side note the mortgages on multiple flat type properties don't tend to get paid down, ever: By the time the mortgage matured it's time to renovate the thing, and you roll it over into a new one. Still the rent prices you can achieve with that are nothing like you see on the open market.
I want to live in a society where people choose the solid products on their own. Everything else calls for trouble down the line.
It is irrational to expect rational behaviour from people.
I don’t undderstand that.
