[looscnnn]

No the cost going down is due to competition, without it the price would not have gone down.

Robots are cheaper now than ever, tooling and presses are also. These are areas that competition and advancement is driving the prices down. I have no idea on weld cells. There are very few specialized applications that do not have competition for equipment producers.

There are places in the US where there are no property taxes, if they moved there instead of overseas they would get depreciation and still not pay property taxes.

The main problem for insurance companies is frivolous lawsuits, just ask doctors and anyone in the health care field. Sure the main increases are in those areas most sued, but they also spread the cost across the board.

[CSM]

Where is electronic componetry manufactured? (Hint: Overseas) You are showing that when the costs do go down the savings is passed on to the customer. Of course that is canceled if the total cost is unchanged.

How about the cheaper robots, dies and fixtures? Where are presses manufactured? (Hint: Overseas) Try comparing the cost to purchase any of this equipment manufactured in the US vs. any other market. You would be shocked at the cost difference.

Depreciation is the formula you use when determining the amount of value that remains on the property to tax. Without property tax you don't need depreciation.

Where are the locations in the US that don't have property tax? (I really don't know and I am interested.)

I never claimed that frivolous law suits were not a "problem" for insurance companies. What I did say is that the single biggest reason for the doubling and tripling in the premiums was due to the market losses.

If the market is strong, then everybody wins. The best way to make a market strong is to unbridle the business, remove government regulations, lower taxes and address unions.