Without import taxes, BMW's and Merc's become very affordable you will find.
As opposed to any other imports, which generally keep pace with domestic vehicles? That's one of the silliest things I've heard in a while, honestly. By your logic, a Yugo should have carried the same price tag as a BMW. Why are Kias so cheap? That line of thinking is so flawed I don't even know where to begin or end...
Have you sat down, taken a deep breath, and considered that perhaps the research, engineering and design that goes into something like a BMW (which produces things like, oh, I don't know, the twin-turbo 335 coupe which goes 0-60 on 5ish seconds, gets nearly 30mpg, has variable valve timing, headlight washers...etc., etc...but of course, it's that darn import tax!)?
IMO, I strongly feel that we should devalue these ridiculous prices and do what is in the best interest of preserving our hobby and these precious ornamentals. It is only a matter of time until some politician passes a bill that results in a CITES restriction of pacific stony coral imports. If this happens, most of us will not be able to afford to be in the hobby.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/eb/Casecoralbill.pdf
You're a little behind there. So, basically what you're saying is we should drive down the cost and price of corals? What happens then? Oh yeah, retailers need to sell more to make their money. Collectors in turn get less money, so they need to collect more to survive. What you're proposing is probably the fastest way to get coral importation outlawed, not to mention the fastest way to put lots of stores out of business. When that happens, prices will also rise due to less competition. You're basically proposing that we destroy the hobby. I'll pass.
From a capitalistic venture, thats great; from the stand point of sustaining the hobby, it financially ostracizes most people.
And I think this is the meat of the problem right here. There are literally HUNDREDS of species and variety of coral out there, the vast majority of them, which likely amounts to the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS imported every year, are very reasonably priced. Because a few of them are more expensive, that has NO effect on the rest of the hobby. What it does have an effect on is bringing out the have-nots who whine about it because they can't get one. Get something else, there's lots of nice pieces out there, and quit complaining. If everyone got the same thing out, regardless of their input, that's basically the definition of communism (not socialist-Russia communism, but true, literal, textbook communism). If you think it's too expensive, get a better job. It will seem much cheaper then.