In some industries, the initial cost of a product is just the beginning; it's the cost of ongoing services that really brings in the dough. The trick is to design the original product in a way that it requires those ongoing services but to sell it in a way that this is not obvious.

It's interesting that Modern Continental seems to have stumbled upon this model, with expensive construction products that just happen to need costly ongoing repair. In any case, it seems that the State, on our behalf, is finally refusing to pay for something we thought we already paid for.