See If Government Can Pull This Off
by Joe Pulcinella
From a short but great article on economics at FEE.org.
[the author bought a computer keyboard for] $14.95! I couldn’t believe it. Still can’t. That keyboard has more than 100 keys, a plastic case, circuits I cannot begin to understand, and a wire to connect it to the computer. It was made in China, shipped here in a custom-made box and inventoried by the retailer, all so I could buy it for $14.95. It boggles the mind.
[...]
Just for the fun of it, I called up the fellow who sold us a computer—with a similar keyboard—back around 1990. He said the keyboard on that computer was made in Idaho and sold retail for more than $100. Ever since then, I have been trying my best to think of something—anything—supplied by the government that has dropped in price by 85 percent since 1990. I can’t. Can you?
Kinda makes you wonder why so many people want to turn so many things over to the government, doesn’t it?