CALIFORNIA BRINGS BACK BILL TO HELP CONSUMERS KEEP THEIR MONEY
So most people have some kind of Apple product at home. But that means we are all under Apple’s greedy thumb when it comes to keeping our hardware alive. Sure, it’s not just Apple’s products we’re talking about here. Many manufacturers want you to pay them, and only them, to repair your phones, laptops, etc. But they charge you an arm and a leg to do so. Last year, California was among a few states that had introduced right to repair bills to open up the competition. That means you could go to someone qualified, but way the hell cheaper, to fix your goods. But Apple and the Agriculture sector killed most of those bills, including in California. But the right to repair bill is back in California!
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RIGHT TO REPAIR BILL ALLOWS US ALL TO GET AFFORDABLE, COMPETITIVE REPAIRS ON OUT TECH
So what is a right to repair bill, exactly? It means replacement parts have to be available on the market, not just from, say, Apple. But that also means documentation for the repairs as well as the codes to override DRM systems. So think of it this way. You buy a replacement part for your computer. But it won’t turn on till Apple activates it. That makes you a price hostage. So if you can only go to Apple to fix your device and it’s crazy expensive, you might just go ahead and buy a new one. Apple wants you to do just that.
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BUT BUYING REPAIRS LOCALLY MEANS CALIFORNIA GETS TAXES, BUT NONE FROM APPLE!
But now California has a new bill to level the market and the playing field. So this is big bucks. But in the US, the repair sector generates as much as 1-4% of the country’s entire GDP. So if you can go to your neighborhood repair service, that money is spent in your community. The transaction is also taxed! So yes, you can see where I’m going here. Apple is pretty much THE icon for avoiding taxes in the United States. So California is keen on having consumers spend their dollars here at home and have that taxed…. here at home
