woodbooga
cords of mystic memory
The manufacturers of this junk don't want it to be repairable. They want you to throw it away and buy another one from them. They are thinking about their bottom line.
I read a book a few years ago that included a history of planned obsolesence. It went something like this:
*After WWII, there was a huge amount of pent up consumer demand following the Depression and the conversion of heavy industry from civilian to materiel manufacture
*In the first few years after the war, it seemed everyone bought new electric ranges, friges, etc. - all at once. GE, Maytag, et al were happy
*But there followed lean years. Everyone who'd wanted new durable goods/white goods got them.
*White goods mfgrs. took a page out of the auto industry's playbook, introducing stylish colors and new designs.
*As a result, people replaced their appliances more frequently, long before their usefulness ended.
*Manufacturers caught on, thinking "Why should we make these goods as durable as we do since they're getting ditched before they wear out?"
*As a result, the quality fell as manufacturers began cutting corners - begining a slippery slope that brings us to where we are now.