A short follow-up…
I suppose so many of us jumped on this thread because it was so far from the
truth.
There are ghettos in the USA and truly poor people living inside and outside
of these ghettos. These people are Caucasians and Americans of African
descent and immigrants, both legal and illegal. For some of the most
compelling cases, their plight makes good TV viewing and human interest
stories. (Our politicians use the stories and images to build fear and a
case for their party's need to be elected.)
These stories can be used to portray the USA as an ugly place where the poor
are condemned to a life of poverty for them and their children. I, and
others you have heard from on this list, don't see things this way. We have
grandparents who came here penniless and did well, owned a home, raised a
family, sent their kids to college! Or we have done it ourselves, moved from
poor to rich in a single generation.
The other argument is that the wealthy have so much of the money that the
poor must be very, very poor. They are so poor they cannot afford consumer
goods. This is difficult to believe once you see the poor in this country.
Others on the list have reported the difference between what you might think
of as poor and the consumer goods they own.
What does this means for camera sales? The USA is a good market for still
camera sales. It's a good market for digital camera sales. It's a great
market for video camera sales! But, you and I may not like the cameras that
are being purchased. Truth of the matter is, cameras were over-engineered
for what the mass market needed and wanted. This is not so anymore. Now we
have to pay for the full cost of these features instead of having the mass
market subsidize the 'grander' designs we saw in the past.
Please remember, for most people, cameras are a recreational item, just a
hobby!
Regards, Bob S.
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