A Nation Of Renters

We're becoming a nation of renters. I don't see this as a good thing. Car and home ownership is becoming out of reach. It's always better to own rather then be subjugated to the terms and conditions set by others who have their own best interest in mind. It's almost like being beholden to a master.

New vehicles have become so expensive many are opting to lease instead. There's a few problems as I see it. (1) In two or three years lessees are forced out of their much needed transportation. Sometimes costing them more at the end for things they haven't factored in such as exceeding mileage or vehicle wear. (2) If one purchases a vehicle they can determine when they can best afford another one. Who knows in two or three years what one's financial situation might be. Maybe hanging on to a vehicle for a few years longer would be someone's best option to avoid financial difficulties. (3) Scheduled maintenance is not an option for a lessee. I'll give you one bad example. My son leased a van. The dealer forced him in for an oil change. They overfilled it causing the engine to blow out the crankshaft oil gasket. They demanded he pay $300 for the repair.

Housing rentals are a terrible option.(1) Some charge extra or won't allow pets. (2) Nuisance complaints are handled by the property owner rather then police. Police can't evict people for noise complaints, outside decorations and the all so many restrictions apartment owners come up with. (3) Mortgages payments are spelled out contractually. Apartment owners can raise them to most anything they desire. (4) Twenty or thirty years after paying rent you are entitled to nothing. Owning something on the other hand means you have a tangible asset of value. (5) Even crazier yet is to "buy" a property and still be obligated to pay condo fees. In most cases it's a hellva lot cheaper to pay contractors for repairs and maintenance only when necessary

Don't think for a moment government isn't encouraging this. Some cities have relaxed their single housing zoning requirements. Here in Pennsylvania there have been a number of multimillion government grants to help developers convert so-called historic structures into rental units (including right here in the Lehigh Valley).

While I'm on the subject-- why become a rental employee? I'm talking about being hired by a firm subcontracted to employ workers for a company. Companies are required by law to follow certain rules for their employees. Companies are able to skirt many of these protections by the use of a subcontracted third party jobber. In other words legally speaking, temp agencies. Others hire their labor as independent contractors. Both which means such a worker is being rented out to them on a day-to-day or hourly basis under whatever terms of their choosing.

Seems to me...
We should never buy a new car we can't afford. Buy a used one instead. Hang on to it till you can afford a better one. Rather then rent try to find a mortgage that would be in line with what you now pay in rent. For a long time people bought a "starter home. After a few years flipped it for something better as their earnings grew along with the value of their home. As far as jobs are concerned-- no one should ever settle for less then being actually hired by a firm itself. Perhaps at the same time seeking to make themselves more attractive by acquiring greater skills. It wouldn't hurt to start up a little side business on your own either.

The point is all too many of us are allowing ourselves to become enslaved by making wrong choices. Anytime we allow ourselves to be indebted we become beholden. In order to free ourselves as much as possible we need to release those ties which allow others to control us by financial means whenever possible.