See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/ejf5
Home ownership, is for suckers
"Renting, not owning, is this century's American dream. You’ll save money, feel happier, and have the world at your service."
Amplify’d from www.wired.com
Abandon Ownership! Join the Rentership Society!
By Chris Suellentrop
November 1, 2010 |
12:00 pm |
Wired November 2010
Photo: Mauricio Alejo
In the American mind, renters are regarded as an unsavory lot, willful dissidents from the American dream. They do things like put cars up on cinder blocks in their front yard or, worse, live in your basement. The vision of an Ownership Society was about more than just houses, but the promotion of homeownership was, for a time at least, its most successful element. You know the story by now: The rate of homeownership climbed to almost 70 percent, sellers walked out of closings trundling wheelbarrows full of cash, and the phrase “granite countertops” seemed to hold as much promise as “plastics” did in The Graduate. Then it all fell apart. We woke up in a Rentership Society, and it’s starting to look permanent. And you know what? Thank goodness. Ownership, it turns out, is for suckers.
For renters today, finding a new apartment on craigslist is almost as easy as streaming a movie. (OK, not quite, but you get the point.) Homeowners don’t reside in this frictionless economy: They’re stuck in one place, unable to quickly downgrade to a cheaper residence when times are lean (or upgrade when times are flush). And it costs thousands of dollars in renovations to beat the depreciation curve.
I speak from experience. My wife and I bought and sold two condos during the latter stages of the real-estate boom, escaping both as break-even propositions (after transaction costs). When we moved into a rental apartment a couple of years ago, we realized that ownership had been a burden, a time sink, and a money pit. Now we ask the landlord to fix things when they break, and we don’t mind that the floor is not the one we would have chosen. We pay less each month than we would on a mortgage, and we bank money that once would have gone into installing central air.
We discovered that this emancipating, and remunerative, mindset applies to a lot of things that in the pre-Internet age you had to accumulate in order to enjoy. We sold our car and now use Zipcar or Avis when we need one — my somewhat technophobic wife refers to Zipcar as “Netflixing a car.”
Granted, I live in Manhattan, where you don’t need a car to get around every day. But no matter where you live, you’ve probably begun to embrace the Rentership Society without even realizing it. When was the last time you bought a DVD? Sales have plummeted because we all stream our video or get discs by mail. Amazon reportedly wants to get into the rental business, too, by creating a streaming service — their current (failed) model sells TV shows by the episode. I get my music from Microsoft’s Zune Pass service these days — $15 a month buys me flexibility, mobility, and freedom from having to upgrade when a new standard replaces MP3s (which it inevitably will).
I’m no freegan, mind you. I don’t dig through dumpsters for my dinner, and I believe in the virtues of property rights. The Rentership Society doesn’t have to mean the Tragedy of the Commons — the stuff I rent isn’t owned by the government or by everyone. It’s owned by someone — someone else. I just pay for use. Those of you with a profit instinct (and storage space) can even become landlords: Websites like SnapGoods and Zilok let people rent out their stuff — lawn mowers, vacuum cleaners, tools — to the tenant class (as discussed by Clive Thompson in issue 18.09).
For the rest of us, we’ll always own some things. There’s stuff we use all the time, like furniture and clothing, and objects with sentimental value (take your stinking paws off my Yoda figure with plastic snake). But the Internet is creating markets that enable us to own much less. The winner of the ebook sweepstakes will be the bookseller who becomes a bookrenter. I don’t want to own hundreds of books on a Kindle at $10 a pop. I want to Netflix them — pay for access to every book ever published. I’d rather be a renter in Borges’ library than the owner of my own.
Everything, everywhere, all the time. That’s the dream of the Rentership Society. And we’re almost there. If you want to be able to possess some things, in some places, some of the time, well, keep on buying. But I vote for infinite abundance, on demand. Doesn’t that sound like the new century’s American dream?
Chris Suellentrop (chris.suellentrop@gmail.com) is a story editor at The New York Times Magazine.
Read more at www.wired.com
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/ejet
11-Year-Old Boy Shot By Police Officer - Video - WGAL The Susquehanna Valley
A Dallas mother says police are supposed to serve and protect, not shoot her innocent 11-year-old son.
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/eje7
Is Flu Vaccination Safe ???
The Makers of Flu Vaccine refused H1N1 Vaccine - There is mercury in Flu Vaccine, remember mercury in dental filling. Mercury is known as the most neurotoxic substance known to man. What is in flu vaccine anyway?
Amplify’d from thesearethey.blogspot.com
Is Flu Vaccination Safe ???
The Makers of Flu Vaccine refused H1N1 Vaccine
There is mercury in Flu Vaccine, remember mercury in dental filling. Mercury is known as the most neurotoxic substance known to man. What is in flu vaccine anyway?
See more at thesearethey.blogspot.com
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/ejdq
Be Strong and Of A Good Courage
Never Give Up for The Lord is With Thee - Ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deu 31:5-6 KJV
For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear. Heb 13:5-6 KJV
Amplify’d from thesearethey.blogspot.com
Be Strong and Of A Good Courage
Never Give Up for The Lord is With Thee
Ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deu 31:5-6 KJV
For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear. Heb 13:5-6 KJV
Read more at thesearethey.blogspot.com
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/ejdm
Peace Safety then Sudden Destruction
One Global Family for Global Peace - But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 1The5:1-3
Amplify’d from thesearethey.blogspot.com
Peace Safety then Sudden Destruction
One Global Family for Global Peace
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 1The5:1-3
Read more at thesearethey.blogspot.com
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/ejdi
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)