Originally I had planned on writing about another passing of an era. With Steve Jobs stepping down as CEO of Apple it would be appropriate. And then we went to lunch.
By we, I mean, most of my department at work. One of my co-workers asked if I was ‘brave’ enough to ride with him and I said, ‘sure’. He’s very fond and very proud of his car and well he should be. It is a very fine automobile. He drives a BMW something Active Hybrid. It’s definitely not an entry level BMW.
Since I had planned to write about Steve Jobs and Apple and their products I had already been thinking about price and quality and how much truth there may be in the phrase, “You get what you pay for.” BMW’s are not even close to inexpensive cars, but they are very nice vehicles that come with features that make a long car trip look and feel like a drive around the block. Apple products are not the least expensive things. In fact what generally keeps me from getting them is the price tag. In some cases you can get two or three of the PC equivalent for what you would pay for the Apple. And yet, for the most part they work, they work very well, and they are fully functional right out of the box. Similarly, I have been told that in general, people in Europe pay more for their food but it’s of better quality that say, in the US.
Let’s think about this a moment. What if, instead of buying more and more stuff because the original stuff broke or became obsolete so soon after getting it, what if we just bought the better stuff to begin with. I know we buy the lesser stuff because we want it now and it’s all we can afford. What if, instead of making that purchase right that moment we waited until we could better afford it and bought the good stuff. I know, this is crazy talk.
Let’s take it a step further. What if, instead of complaining about the state of our schools and quality of education and teachers, what if we paid more for them. I’m talking about our public schools K to 12. And what if we gave those teachers a better salary and the tools to do what we’ve asked them to do, ie. educate the next generation of workers, voters, citizens.
And what if, instead of complaining about our Government and the federal programs that are closing or failing, what if we fix the tax code so it’s a bit more fair and even. And then spend a little more time participating in the governmental processes so that when they come to us as tax payers and say “we want to raise taxes because…” we don’t just respond with knee-jerk whining about how much taxes we pay. What if we were willing to pay for a quality Government?
Ok, I know, this last one is quite a stretch and maybe even fantasy. But, what if…?
I’m tired of spending so much money and paying so many bills for things that I know I will be wanting or needing to replace before I’ve had time to save up for it’s replacement. I’m thinking it may be time to go back to the days of saving up for things and making it the high quality things. Sure maybe I won’t have as many things and maybe I’ll have to wait quite a while. Are either of those things really that bad?
If it’s true that ‘you get what you pay for’ then maybe it’s time to find those high quality things and be willing to pay more for them. Let’s think about this a moment.