"You'll own nothing and you'll be happy" is a phrase derived from a 2016 World Economic Forum (WEF) video and an essay by Danish politician Ida Auken, predicting a 2030, sharing-economy future. It highlights a shift towards service-based consumption (renting/subscriptions) over ownership, often criticized for reduced autonomy. In the Future With the exception of maybe the top 10% (maybe even only the top 1% - Corporations) Will own anything Corporations buying all the houses so everyone has to rent. They can overpay upfront then get it back on the Rent raises No More CDs, Dvds, etc etc etc Everything is a subscription Question: Are you happy with it? Rocket River
For a long, long time home ownership was one of the key policy pillars to social stability in America. It was articulated that people who own property are much, much more invested in preserving their investment in "the system" and therefore much less likely to engage in things like radicalizing and joining a revolitionary movement. Home ownership was reguarly cited as why the US was more stable than European nations. I'm not sure if there are actual studies backing this, but the argument pointed to the much larger percentage of renters in Europe over the USA in the early 20th century, and the resultant relative greater levels of social unrest. This makes great sense from the perspective of corporations for short term profit maximization Not much at all from the perspective of individuals, or of nations. And I doubt it is actually good for mega-corporations in the long run. The worst thing that ever happened to capitalism was losing the boogyman of the Red Menace which acted as a moderating force on the worst impulses of capitalists. "The only thing stronger than greed is fear" is an old Wall Street aphorism. There is no fear anymore to moderate and counteract the greed. To quote Mr Robert Zimmerman, "When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose." But I guess if this goes t*** up in one country, those multinational corporations can just take a write off and pivot to other nations to maximize profits while the revoltionaries they created tear their own countries to pieces.
The American Dream existed - and did not exist in Western Europe, because in the USA the ability to own a home was something that 90% of the population could strive towards and do, if so inclined. That is no longer the case - the USA is headed down the route of lost ownership as well, and many younger people seem to have no real issue with it. Why own a car? Why own a home? Let the wealthy have complete control over the means of production and the product
I graduate college in 1982. Inflation was completely out of control. Country was in recession. Over the next 10 years or so, the economy bounced back and inflation got tamed .. but ... home ownership was damn hard for a single income household seeing that home mortgage rates were over 10% into the 1990s. This **** is just cyclical. Mortgage rates are not that high now but may go lower over the next 5-10 years. House prices are high, but the boomers are not going to live forever. Some boomers may even downsize and live in retirement communities. Supply at some point will outpace demand. Private equity has bought houses but that trend just might reverse itself. See the current Florida real estate market, where home owners are fleeing the state if they can, since home/flood insurance is outrageous and required by mortgage companies.
It's true that we take care of things we own. How many times have you washed a rental car? It's also true why in the suburbs (almost everyone owns their house) they take care of their yards and in the cities (almost all renters) they throw trash on the streets. I would love to see African American home ownership rise -- I think this can pay significant dividends in their communities. GOOD DAY
