Indeed, we spend more than anyone else but also get less for our money than anyone else. It would likely be an underestimate to say that our gear and labor costs double that of any of our competition.
Some middlemen are critical. I used to be more skeptical of "mere merchants" but they often take significant risks to supply us with things we need at exactly the time we need them and not a moment before. They provide a service to you by efficiently getting products into your hands, and they provide a service to the producers by handling all the logistics of distribution. Some middlemen don't add significant value, such as drop shippers (IMO). But even they might be seen as providing some value, such as making it more convenient for you to buy and assuming risks on your behalf.
People don't ever ignore corporate America's actual price gouging. I think they are sometimes conditioned to see price gouging where there is none. Domestic costs are very high, and foreign costs are low (perhaps even suspiciously low; our competition is willing to operate at a loss to put us out of business). Don't get me wrong, it would be awesome if there was some obvious price gouging at work that could be cut to solve all our problems. But it is usually just market forces that drive prices high.
