Originally Posted by
helmet4000
I said "potentially monopolistic" which is different from pure monopoly. 70% market share likely means they can inflate prices.
70% market share in what? Location devices? Incorrect and not even close. We're talking about fitness equipment here not some narrow segment of the automotive market.
It is logically impossible for the D.o.D. to have developed GPS without developing the technology behind the receivers. While private companies may have made revisions to the original design (much less expensive and risky), the high cost was borne by the U.S. taxpayer.
Ignorance is bliss. The technology behind the receiver is basic math and physics. the DOD didn't invent anything here. Making small, low power, low cost multi-channel receivers takes hundreds of millions of dollars in R&D investments. While Garmin made none of these investments, other companies did.
I am a U.S. consumer and taxpayer. I now pay Garmin high prices due to a mixture of their potentially monopolistic domination of the market for a technology that my parents and grandparents' tax dollars helped fund. There should be some kind of discount for products sold by companies who use technology paid for by U.S. tax dollars. The same argument can be made for the large pharmaceutical monopolies in the U.S.
Next you're going to want a discount from your local grocer because they delivered your broccoli on road paid for by taxpayers.