Other than the sarchastic comment every now and then, God knows I've been doing my best to not get involved with the price type discussions...especially since the last increase priced us out of the hobby. Yet I gotta say what I gotta say.
As Blackburn states it's no surprise especially since greed is it's own master. Manufacturers (think bigger picture than just trains folks /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/whistling.gif )in general have enjoyed a great profit margin over the years and just don't want to loose it. Please do not tell me the profits haven't been there since I know for a fact that at least one Hobby manufacturer head owns and drives a Hummer H-1 and at 115,000.00+ they ain't cheap!!!! Hey that's great but there has to be an approach to look at the long term effects it has on the business instead of the short term gains just so the standard of living that has become accustomed to being lived....... Not to mention all the other industries out there (yes there is the occasional exception but in all honesty I think you'd be hard pressed to convince me that there's not a substantial amount of padding profits going on by many manufacturing execs. They gotte get their golden parachute from somewhere/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/blink.gif Ya just won't convince me that it's economically responsible to keep raising prices until no-one can afford the products. None the less it's getting to the point where any further price increases in just about any industy, necessity or hobby, is going to start costing that industry in the longrun.
Our "train of thought" (pardon the pun) has become one that if it ain't needed then it won't be bought. Guy's, if we're not there already...... the 70's are gonna look like the 50's! Unfortunately this hobby is so far down the line on the "ain't needed" that unless things ever (doubtful) fall back to the prices of just 3-4 years ago we have made all the purchases, new or used we will ever make.
Even after I became incapacitated and fell outta the mainstream, we considered ourselves well settled in the middle class. Unfortunately that class is now shrinking and will soon be gone. We are looking at a future of "those that can and those that cannot". Three classes? Huh! The saddest part is the manufacturers are on the threshold of pricing themselves out of existance or being available to only those "elite" enough to afford things and from the sound and looks of things that base will be substantially shrinking over the next 5-15 years.
I can't remember who said it but in the restaurant industry we had a saying......"It's better to have 1% of a million dollars that 20% of nothing"! Now that 5-10% profit margines have given way to 50-60%, it's costing us greatly in more ways than one. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crying.gif BTW I may have sounded off different earlier but after a good amount of refelction I think we're off base by blaming foreign countries like China or anyone else for that fact, for our issues. But it is really all with-in US to control and repair. Yet as someone just mentioned here all therest of the world wants is the same piece of the pie that we have had a stock hold on for so long. Who can blame them? The world has finally come up to our level and now we don't like it. I for one am far less concerned about the price of some "toys" when the price of a fricken loaf of bread is close to 4 bucks here not to mention milk at close to 5 bucks a gallon. What about beef at close to 5.50lb for crappy select grade or how about other necessities like the 25% increase in our water and sewer charges.

So.....................
The rest would be too heated a discussion for here so......................... Rant over and soap box neatly tucked under bed.