Buy vs. Own

There’s an adage saying that while you may be able to afford to buy something, can you really afford to own it? I’m attempting to apply this reasoning to the presidential election. I’m not sure I’ve got it right, but it’s an interesting exercise to go through.

I can afford to buy a boat. I mean a sailboat or a motorboat that requires moorage in a slip (not one that you can keep in your urban backyard). Those can start at about $10K and just keep going up. So I have lots of choices when buying a boat and the fiancé and I can definitely afford to buy some level of boat. But what I can’t afford is to own a boat. I can’t afford the monthly moorage costs (minimum $300 per month in Tacoma up to winning the lottery in Seattle). I can’t afford the upkeep and repairs. I also don't have the option of buying a small boat that fits in my backyard ('cause you can't get one in my backyard). Hence, I don’t get to buy a boat because I can’t afford to own the boat.

What about a car? I can afford just about any car. But can I afford to own the car? A Honda requires more upkeep than a BMW. But a BMW’s regular upkeep costs more per month/year than a Honda. However, after doing the cost/benefit analysis, I can both afford to buy and own the BMW (plus, my roadster is way too damned cool, but that’s neither here nor there).

Home ownership is the topic du jour. Bush told America that not only they should buy homes (remember the “Ownership Society”?) but also that they deserved it. What he didn’t tell everyone was that not only could they not really afford to buy it, they most definitely couldn’t afford to own what they bought.

Where this argument breaks down is in higher education. Most people can’t afford to buy it, but once bought, it’s trivial to own it. Higher education nearly always increases your purchasing power and personal wealth, relative to what you choice to study. And that’s because education is an investment, not a purchase. Something that is more expensive to buy than it is to own isn’t a purchase, it’s an investment (or a pair of Alexander McQueen shoes).

So where does government fit in? Can you afford to buy X vs. Y administration? Sure you can. It’s only a ballot. But can you afford to own it?

McCain said he would cut spending on everything but defense and veterans (but hasn’t exhibited that type of restraint regarding the bailout). But what does that do to the country? Crumbling infrastructure and ballooning war costs. Obama wants to invest in the nation’s infrastructure and reduce war spending, something that will immediately create jobs, generate incomes, and do what’s needed to be done anyway for our future. McCain wants to buy out the bad mortgages at the cost the banks incurred. Can we afford to own that? Particularly for homeowners that couldn’t afford to either buy or own what they did? Obama wants to raise revenues, McCain wants to cut them.

It’s interesting to think about in terms of buying vs. owning. The next administration, whoever it is, will not reduce the deficit, reduce spending, or balance the budget. That’s not realistic. How they own what we’ve bought is the real test. And I’m spending my vote that Obama owns the country better than McCain will.