...

Because the whole nature of market competition? People will still choose the cheaper option if its available.

I’m starting to think it may just be minimizing cost. Theoretically that just means “maximize profit”, but I suspect in practice it means a whole slew of bad behavior and design choices. I.e. Pay for the part that’s .0001 cent cheaper than another option, despite the cheaper part possibly being a fire hazard.

competition, a bedrock element of fair markets, capitalism, and efficient economic allocation, something we seem to have collectively lost sight of.