2 Years of Service
I'm curious if you are from the US or another country. If you're from another country, what general region?
I'm very curious when I meet someone from another country who doesn't like Americans or love the idea of America. It doesn't happen often in my experience.
If you're from the US, don't believe all the media (both official and social) about perception of America. Yes, there are parts of the world that don't like us, and they are very vocal about it. I've been to around 30 other countries in my life and every one of them people have nice things to say about the USA. (Admittedly, I haven't been to Syria or Iran)
It's true we do things at times that piss some people off, but there's so much we do to help other nations we have a lot of goodwill out there. And I don't think the large number of people who immigrate to this country (either legally or not) are looking to live somewhere they don't like. While we may be a bit selfish (and honestly, who isn't??) we are also a very generous country and friendly people.
Regarding planned obsolescence; Yes, that's a problem that is just getting worse. I have 20 year old appliances that hold up better than something bought 2 years ago. That's a world-wide thing though, not just a USA thing. The concept was developed by the lightbulb industry, and dreamed up in 1924 by the Phoebus Cartel (lightbulb manufacturers from all over the world)
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There are several forms of obsolescence, Planned, Perceived, and Natural.
Natural Obsolescence is generally fine and what we would expect: Shoes and tires wear out due to the duties they perform. Materials don't last forever and fail at some point. Razor blades can't remain sharp forever.
There is also a variant of this which is driven by technology innovation. You couldn't get a 5G phone in 2019 because the technology wasn't ready or hadn't been invented. So an older 3G or 4G phone has to be replaced to take advantage of the new technologies. (But there's a link to the next item.)
Planned Obsolescence comes in two forms:
1) Where the materials used are only up to the quality that provides the minimum viable lifespan for the item, with the assumption that the consumer will be forced to buy a replacement.
2) Where some components of a system fail or should be replaced to support new technology, but the system is not designed to allow piecemeal replacement of components so the entire system has to be replaced.
Perceived Obsolescence is the third type, which the car manufacturers came up with in the 20's but really had been around since clothing fashion was a thing. Each year come out with the same basic product but a variation on the appearance, so that wealthy people can adopt "the latest fashion" which then drives everyone else who cares about that to buy the new stuff. This is the "worst" type because it's fairly pointless, but also the most avoidable.
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Crisis avoided
