Today, I must vent on an issue that has mattered less to me personally, previous to certain recent events. This is on the supposed ownership of property.
Some personal background that colors my opinion follows: I lean heavily Buddhist in my personal philosophy on life, in that I recognize and accept that all things are temporary - life (and, therefore, property entitlement even more greatly so) being chief among them. However, it does upset me when established things change. I'm not overly traditional, but am chronicly nostalgic - which is tough, being heavily Buddhist. I applaud progress, but am disgusted by change for the sake of change and change that unnecessarily disrupts established tradition. I am emphatically against eminent domain, planned obsolescence and disposable design (especially as concerns what passes as architecture in housing design and construction in this country).
My main concern in this is not about these issues - though I'll likely revisit them - but concerns the illusion that we have about ownership in this country. Home ownership is what sparked my interest in this issue, hearing so much about foreclosures and other issues related to what's happening in this economic environment.
In the first place, anyone who has purchased their home with a loan does NOT own their home. You don't own your property until the loan is paid back in full. The bank owns your home, and what you are paying for is the use of the bank's money over time. You pay the bank interest to buy the home you desire, and you don't own anything except the monetary difference between what is still owed and the value of your home. So, after fifteen years, you do not own your home when you lose your job and have to pay off the loan. They own your home, and you are only entitled to the difference between the money they have used on your behalf that has not been repaid and the value of the property. Your home is not yours until there is no debt owed. Only then does actual ownership transfer from the bank to you.
At this point, you'd think that the property is yours. But, again, this is not the case. Private property is only private so long as the government continues to agree with this arrangement. As soon as the government decides the property is needed for public use or for commercial interests, that property will be taken. Again, you don't own the property because it can be taken from you for the value of the property. You are only entitled, in this case, to the monetary value of the property and perhaps a little extra to make up for any non-monetary value. You do not own something as long as someone or some entity can legally take it away against your will. It's essentially a long-term lease contract. Even if this never happens, and you can pass your property down to posterity in perpetuity, the possibility is what makes your supposed ownership false.
And what if you can hold off outside interests from wanting your property, establishing a situation in which you can feel completely safe that you will own your paid-off family property so long as you are interested in doing so? Well, then you'd better never run out of money. Not because you might need to sell your property for its value, which would be a prerogative of situations beyond ownership. No, you'll always need to have money because you will have to be able to pay your taxes. If you don't earn, you don't have income tax, but you'll always have to worry about property tax (as the system is currently). So, if you have a piece of property that your great-grandfather passed down that ended up in your hands, obviously completely paid for, you'd hope that the property is securely in your family's possession. Again, this is not the case, because if the government does not get their taxes, which it suggests it is due because you own a property of value, then they will take the property that has been in your family. This is just another example of how land is not privately owned, but is leased long-term from the government.
So, what can we do? Anything? Can we prevent the inevitable theft of personal property? No. EVERYTHING is temporary; everything has its end, given enough time. But what we can do is recognize property ownership for what it is and learn to live unattached. Possessions ultimately possess us, as long as we feel our identity wrapped in them. Know that you may pay off your loan, you may hold your property until you pass on, your children may keep the property, but, eventually, whether by design or circumstance, that property will no longer be part of your legacy.
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