Home ownership - it ain't what it used to be

Back before the days of easy credit brought by the tax money, owning a home used to mean something. A home owner was a man of substance, possessed of the REAL property, most probably a link in a chain of generations. Mr. Jones of Trumbull, Connecticut.

Nowadays, it's a bit different. Just like you're expected to move out from your parents' house, you're expected to buy your first condo. Then your large family house. Then you sell it all and move to Florida. Then you die, leaving your kids a bunch of money (maybe) and not a pile of stones. Mr. Ivanov of somewhere within commuting distance to Wall Street.

I am one of the beneficiaries of this process, and I hate it anyway. Not much difference, nowadays, between renting and owning. Hard to call your house "my fortress" when you pay for it monthly, and will keep paying till you sell it. When Homeowners Association, insurance and zoning laws are as restrictive as any landlord about things you can do with "your" "property".

I am not sure I want the old days back. I am not even sure we could bring them back if we tried. But we have to realize that the kind of home ownership we have now is hardly the noble thing we hoped for. And, therefore, may not be worth quite so much.

Tough sell

I've got a flier from a cell phone company recently. Funny, there was nothing there about their great services. The whole thing was about great PHONES they had available. The phones they don't make. The phones that they do their best to cripple, disabling features the consumers like me want.

It's hard to be a wireless provider nowadays. All you can advertise is the price that's too high and a bunch of restrictions on usage that make your customer life harder. Better not mention it at all and concentrate on wonderful things other people sell.