[SweetLlamaMyth]

Many manufacturers DO have discounted student pricing (not that it's publicly mandated).

[astura]

Student discounts, military/veteran + family discounts, employee discounts (negotiated pricing), bulk purchase discounts, preferred customer discounts, subscription discounts (like Amazon Prime), senior discounts, promotional discounts, price matching, negotiated pricing, courtesy discounts, employee discounts, retired employee+family discounts, low income subsidies, certain tax exemptions for certain populations, etc.

The idea we all pay the exact same for the same product/service is... not accurate.