Brunt? I Think Not!

[talon]

Times are changing and providers have to make up losses somewhere, so consumers bear the brunt of it."

This absolutely slays me. Who else is supposed to "bear the brunt" of business expenses? It has always been the consumer who pays for the cost of the item and of doing business. Businesses are not in it for charity purposes - they expect to make a profit. Their entire income comes from - wait for it - consumers!

Who else is going to pay for it? Businesses fail when they don't get enough money from the consumers of their product to cover the costs of doing business. They aren't altruistic, giving away their services and products and living austere lives of deprivation just so a consumer can live high and happy.

Newsflash to all you reporters out there - businesses are in it for the profits they can make.

Consumers have some control over the process in that they can choose not to buy something or to shop somewhere that isn't price-gouging - consumers don't mind businesses making reasonable profits but resent it when businesses are seen as taking advantage of the consumer.

Consumers will pay outrgaeous prices as long as they think it's a fair price, that the product or service is worth the money they give.

When they can't find a reason for the excessive price, they balk and rightly so.

Consumers bear the entire cost of doing business, there is no "brunt" about it. There is no one else paying that business to exist beyond the consumers buying their products and services.

Statements like the opening quote imply that someone else pays for the business to exist and consumers merely pay for a portion of the business's expenses. That is so very wrong.

One way or another, consumers always pay the entire cost of businesses existing - either unwillingly through taxes (and I have a whole rant about taxes supporting private enterprises either through reduced taxation or by government agencies funding private businesses with tax dollars), or willingly through purchasing the products and services.

Don't be misled by quotes like the one above - consumers don't "bear the brunt"; they bear the entire cost.