I much admire the example of your dad. Remember : "The misery of poor quality remains much longer than the joy of a cheap price."
Poor quality is one thing but designing a product to fail at a pre-determined time, while understandable from a business point of view, is criminal!
Thanks so much @denmarkguy for taking the time to make an insightful comment!
The cynic in me says it's just part of our inevitable cycle that revolves around consuming and spending. I'm sure apologists for capitalism will argue that's how things are meant to work... but I take issue with that. I am a willing buyer for a better product that will last me a lifetime, but nobody seems to make one for me to buy!