zlatiah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I just thought it’s more of an issue of language/expression than anything… Methinks the concept of “leasing/renting” for an indefinite amount of time might be quite new in human history, so maybe we just don’t have a better word for it
Case in point… From a pure technical standpoint, I thought a game I purchased on Steam or an audiobook from Amazon is technically “leased indefinitely with no additional fees”, but doesn’t the lack of additional fees make it equivalent to owning something?
And as otherwise pointed out, under capitalist systems you can literally own a home, but would still have to pay taxes to pay for maintenance of publicly shared resources… so at what time should we call it “leased” instead
meekah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Well, we do have the words leasing and renting.
The difference between owning games on steam and actually owning a game? When steam shuts down, you suddenly don’t own any games anymore.
When you own a house, you can do whatever you want with it. If you choose to use it without utilities, you can for no extra cost. And payong taxes doesn’t really have anything to do with ownership.if anything taxes are proof of your ownership.
phubarr@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What are you talking about? “Taxes don’t have anything to do with ownership”
Your county sends the person on the deed to the house a tax bill every year. For me, it works out to over $300 per month for a very modest house. If you have a mortgage, it’s bundled into the mortgage payments.
meekah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yeah, owners pay taxes to fund the government. But paying taxes does not mean you don’t own something, as if you were renting.
phubarr@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Functionally, there’s no difference. The amount they demand is based off your house’s value, and they take it away from you if you don’t pay. The label is just a detail. And it’s not a trivial cost, I inherited a small, aged, worn out house and I pay over $300/mo just to exist in it. The tax office wildly overestimated it’s value and there’s nothing I can do about it.