Are extended warranties good or bad?

Cindy bought me an expensive cell phone for Christmas. It lasted 10 days before it stopped working. She returned it to the store and they're mailing it to the repair centre in Toronto.

Nowadays when you buy electronics, the salesman pushes an extended warranty on you. Why? Because they make a huge commission off of it (I know this from a friend who works in retail), and because electronics are made shitty.

I don't know if the extended warranty trend is good or bad. On the plus side, an extended warranty means insurance on an electronic item. On the other hand, it's a cash-grab for electronics manufacturers who no longer have any motivation to build high quality items that last.

Since when did we have to start paying a premium on top of the original price, just to ensure that the object lasts longer than a year? Overall, I'm thinking this is a bad trend for consumers.

It's related to my October 15th post in which I wrote:

Another gripe I have with the post office is insurance on lost items. You can pay more to "cover" the cost of a lost item, in case the post office screws up. Here's what the post office is essentially saying:

"Here's the cost for mailing a letter. Now, if you pay more, and we screw up, you'll get your money back." Umm, shouldn't you get your money back, regardless? They didn't do their job.

One major problem with cell phones...

For the most part, cell phones are great. Yes, other people can be annoying - but the convenience of cell phones far outweighs the minority of people who abuse them.

I was in university (mid 90s) when cell phones first started being popular. I don't really remember, but I imagine they were big in size.

I do remember my roommate making fun of people who walked around talking on the cell phone. He openly pointed at them and said out loud, "Cell phone geek!"

Now everyone has one.

But there is one major problem. A cell phone makes it easier for the wife to call you up and yell at you. In the old days your spouse had to wait until you were home. Now, with the advent of cell phones, castigation is instant.

Talking on a cell phone while driving will soon be illegal.

The provincial government recently announced that talking on the cell phone or texting while driving will soon be illegal.

They announced it to great fanfare. People were happy. A few representatives from various community groups were standing beside the minister at the press conference, smiling and nodding their heads.

People phoned into the radio station and said it was a great idea because they've had lots of "close calls" or "near misses" with distracted drivers.

My first instinct as well is to support the move. No one likes people yapping on their cell phones while they drive.

But we also need to think about the role of government. Should the government be responsible for legislating good behaviour? Can you legislate good behaviour? Do laws make people moral? Is the government's role to take care of us? Do I want a portion of my taxes supporting these kinds of initiatives?

Where do we draw the line? If talking on a cell phone distracts drivers, then shouldn't it be illegal to talk to a passenger? Or fiddle with the radio?

We need to remember every law that is passed, no matter how benign, gives the government just a little more power over our lives. And, in this case, the government restricts our freedom just a little more as well.

PS: Isn't the expression "near miss" silly? Wouldn't it just be a "miss"? I would think a near miss would actually be a hit.