Manufacturers trying to force buyers into new sales
In addition to an obsession with thinness, there is the manufacturer's intent to control their customers by forcing them to buy new equipment when an old one breaks. Not only is this wasteful beyond belief (anti-green thinking), but it also is typical marketing tactics to control customers and reach into their wallets more often to boost their own bottom line. Too many companies do not really care if they keep their customers poor by fleecing them as often as possible. This is another reason why we have the economic problems we have today - unemployment, tight wallets, decreasing sales, all from ever poorer customers who can no longer contribute to the economy beyond basic living expenses - driving 10 year old cars, keeping everything like appliances longer. Seems self-defeating to me.
