Our family clothes dryer has been falling apart. We have put more money into repairs than what it cost to buy it. The last technician said that these appliances have about a 10-year life span.

Looking at the insides of the dryer, it seems it could be better built. A better choice of materials et al could make this into a 30-year machine. But the costs go up. Too many consumers cannot think beyond 10 years.

So a good policy would be to put a $100 tax on all new machines. Then slowly increase that tax with time. This will eventually give incentive for the repair side of the equation to turn 10-year machines into 15-year machines. Used appliances will be more marketeble.

The tax will also reduce the differential between a 10-year machine and a 20-year machine. Some manufacturers will see an opportunity to "beef up" their machines, and gain a marketing advantage.

Unfortunately, our systems of governance will move too slowly to consider such a tax. Or not move at all.

This is a good sign that we need look for another system of governance:

https://medium.com/tiered-democratic-governance/the-tdg-essay-cf48e4b4a1eb