A speculation about outsourcing -

[hedgehog]

11. I'm thinking of a problem that is the opposite of planned obsolescence.

Planned obsolescence implies that every single model of a machine has a particular life span: this car will go 100,000 miles, that iron will last 1000 hours, that waffle maker will go for 200 hours, etc. You can make a car that will last forever, but it will be too expensive for anyone to buy.

What I'm talking about is a collapse in quality control. It used to be that certain brand names implied a certain quality. You knew that you could buy an off brand for a cheaper price, but you also knew that there was apt to be some sort of problem with the off brand. You made the decision to pay extra for quality or go with something cheap for the moment. The problem is that you have no idea what you're getting for your money any more. I buy an iron and it lasts forever. You buy the same iron at the same store, and it lasts 2 hours before it burns out.