I might get slapped but I have to rebut your statement.
It's not a matter of being "way too into purses." One can have a lovely non-designer brand bag and no one would criticize them. The problem isn't that we're label snobs. I have some very nice Tignello, Lodis and other brand items that are not labels that have been faked (that I'm aware of).
The problem with counterfeit items is that they are associated with organized crime, terrorism, use of child labor, unsafe working conditions, etc.
The problem goes much deeper than the fake industry taking money from the deep pockets of the designers. If you do a bit of googling of some keywords (as suggested by Hyacinth), you'd be amazed at what you read.
As for "there being knockoffs of everything," yes, you are correct and it's very scary. There are fake drugs, fake clothing, shoes, laundry detergents, fake automobile parts -- and about anything else that you think of with a high consumer demand.
In many cases, use of fakes won't have a physical effect on those who use them, but there are instances where people have been hurt or sickened because they used a counterfeit item.
Babies might play with the cheap fake keychain their mother has and have brain damage resulting from the high lead levels in the charms.
In fact, my type-1 diabetic son could have had dire consequences based on what happened to him several years ago. He purchased his blood sugar testing test strips from CVS and subequently got a notice that they were counterfeit.
Somehow, CVS's suppliers got fake test strips and they were distributed to diabetic patients. If patients took the wrong amount of insulin, they could have died as a direct result of the counterfeit item they unknowingly purchased from their pharmacy.
Please do a bit of reading so you really know the consequences and dangers of the industry before condemning us as label whores.
Thank you again for your time.