“Your Car, Your House, Your Freedom: The Hidden War Against Ownership in America”
From The Craig Bushon Show Media Team
For more than a century, Americans believed that buying a car meant ownership. You paid the dealer, got the keys, and the vehicle was yours to drive, fix, or even customize however you wanted. But more and more manufacturers today, and increasingly into the future, are reshaping the rules of ownership. Cars are turning into subscription-based platforms where software locks and dealer monopolies control your access.
Now imagine if that same philosophy took over the housing market. What would happen if your home — the very foundation of the American dream — was run under the same rules? The picture isn’t pretty.
Cars as Software: The New Normal
Modern vehicles are rolling computers, and manufacturers know it. A single car can contain over 100 million lines of code. Whoever controls the code controls the car. That means:
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Access to features like heated seats, adaptive headlights, faster acceleration, and navigation systems tied to monthly subscriptions
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Repairs restricted by proprietary tools and secure gateways that lock independent mechanics out
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The illusion of ownership where the driver holds the title but the manufacturer still holds the keys
Luxury brands are already leading this trend. BMW tested monthly charges for heated seats and adaptive cruise control. The insult is that the hardware is already built into the car — you’ve already paid for it as part of the purchase price — but unless you keep sending money every month, they won’t let you use what’s sitting right under you. Mercedes-Benz charges $1,200 a year to unlock faster acceleration in certain electric vehicles. Again, the car has the capability, it’s built in, but it’s digitally blocked until you pay a toll. Tesla sells Full Self-Driving on subscription and ties even basic features like live traffic and satellite maps to ongoing fees, despite the car already having the processing power and sensors installed. Porsche offers access to vehicles through subscription programs where you never truly own them, and General Motors has gone on record saying future profits will come from billions in software and feature subscriptions, not just car sales.
And here’s the key: just because all automakers have not adopted these tactics yet doesn’t mean they won’t. If one company can lock features behind subscriptions and generate steady profit, the rest of the industry will follow. The history of business is clear — if it can be monetized, it will be.
The Push Toward a Driverless Fleet
The rise of self-driving cars takes this further. Automakers and tech companies are investing heavily in a future where people don’t own vehicles at all. Instead, you’ll summon a driverless car on demand. No title in your hand, no keys in your pocket, no car in the driveway. It’s sold as convenience, but it’s really about permanent dependence. If you can’t own the vehicle that moves you, you’ll pay for access every single time you need to get anywhere.
If Homes Were Like Cars
Now apply that logic to your house. You close on the mortgage, you hold the deed, but what you’ve really bought is a license to use certain features. Everything else remains under corporate control.
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Subscription rooms
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The guest bathroom requires a $25 monthly add-on
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The garage door only opens with a garage package subscription
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Backyard patio lights locked behind a $5 outdoor living plan
Just like with heated seats in a BMW, the wiring, the switch, the lights — they’re already in the house. The money has already been spent to install them. But unless you pay an extra fee, the builder keeps them digitally locked.
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Software updates on your house
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A patch removes your ability to override your thermostat unless you upgrade
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An update disables half your smart outlets until you renew a premium plan
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Auto-locking doors forced through a so-called “safety” update
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Locked-out repairs
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Only certified technicians with corporate logins allowed to touch wiring
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A self-installed faucet flags your plumbing as unauthorized and shuts down water
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Even replacing an air filter could void a warranty
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Remote shutdowns of your home
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Miss a payment and hot water is cut off
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Smart locks freeze if you don’t renew the plan
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Builders repossess rooms one at a time until you pay
The Illusion of Ownership
Ownership used to mean control: when you paid for something, it was yours. Today’s model changes that. You don’t own the features of your car — you rent them. You don’t own the systems in your home — you rent them. You don’t control repairs — corporations do. If BMW can charge you to activate a heated seat you already physically own, what stops a homebuilder from charging to unlock a second bathroom you already paid to have built?
And it doesn’t stop with corporations. Property taxes prove that even after you pay off your house, you never truly own it outright. Stop paying property tax, and the government can seize your home. That means ownership is always conditional. In many states, property taxes rise year after year, forcing retirees and working families to pay a permanent rent to the state simply for the privilege of staying in their own home. The message is clear: you may hold the deed, but you never fully hold freedom.
The Right-to-Repair Battle
The fight over repair rights is already well underway. Farmers were the first to sound the alarm when John Deere locked their tractors with software codes only dealers could unlock. That meant a farmer with a broken machine in the middle of harvest season had to wait, sometimes weeks, for an authorized repair. Independent mechanics were sidelined, and farmers were left powerless on their own land.
This sparked a nationwide Right-to-Repair movement. In Massachusetts, voters passed a ballot initiative requiring automakers to share vehicle data with independent shops. Over 75% of voters supported it, proving Americans overwhelmingly believe that if you buy something, you should have the right to repair it. The auto industry fought back in court, tying up the law in lawsuits, but the message from citizens was loud and clear: ownership should mean control.
At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission has warned manufacturers that restricting repairs may be considered anti-competitive. President Biden signed an executive order in 2021 encouraging agencies to enforce Right-to-Repair principles across industries. And in 2023, the European Union passed sweeping rules requiring electronics manufacturers to make parts and manuals available to consumers for years after purchase.
Yet, despite these moves, corporations continue to resist. Automakers argue that opening repair access threatens “safety and cybersecurity.” Critics argue that it’s about profit, not safety, because every locked repair keeps money flowing back into dealer service bays.
Now, imagine these same fights spilling over into housing. A leaky faucet, a broken lock, or an electrical issue could be deemed “unauthorized” repairs. You’d be locked out until a corporate-approved contractor shows up — at corporate-approved prices. Just as farmers are fighting for their right to repair tractors and drivers are fighting for their right to repair cars, homeowners may one day need to fight for the right to fix their own homes.
When Subdivisions Aren’t Really Yours
The same erosion of ownership is happening in housing. Corporations and investment funds are buying up entire neighborhoods. These communities look like normal subdivisions with family homes, driveways, and fences, but residents don’t actually own anything. They rent from the company that owns the land and the houses. To the outside, it looks like homeownership. In reality, it’s a corporate lease disguised as the American dream.
And even for those who “own,” property taxes function as a never-ending rent paid to the government. Families live under the threat that if they fall behind on these taxes, their homes can be taken. This system ensures that even those who sacrifice for decades to pay off their mortgage never escape the leash of permanent payment.
Why This Matters for Liberty
This is about more than cost; it’s about control.
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Freedom of choice disappears when independent mechanics, contractors, and handymen are replaced by monopolies
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Control of your property vanishes if a company or the government can disable your car or seize your home remotely
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Dependence grows as subscriptions, rentals, and property taxes create permanent reliance on powers beyond the individual
Where This Could Lead
If this continues, cars and homes will behave like locked phones designed for endless payments. Independent businesses disappear. Citizens lose sovereignty over what they own. Ownership becomes a façade while corporations and governments dictate the rules. That’s not just an economic issue. It’s cultural, political, and strikes at the core of American independence.
The American Dream at Risk
Two symbols of independence define American life: a car in the driveway and a deed to a home. Both represent self-reliance and security. If automaker logic spreads into housing, the dream collapses into a subscription plan. You may hold the deed, but between corporations charging you to use features you already paid for, and governments collecting endless property tax, you never truly stop paying. If subdivisions are transformed into permanent rental communities owned by Wall Street, then homeownership itself becomes a memory.
This is not ownership. It is a managed existence where citizens are perpetual renters in a system designed to extract payment forever. The trappings of freedom remain — a house, a car, a neighborhood that looks normal — but beneath the surface the rules have shifted. Instead of independence, you live under constant permission slips, fees, and taxes. The American dream doesn’t vanish in one stroke. It erodes piece by piece, until the proud claim of ownership is reduced to nothing more than a bill due every month.
Final Word
If automakers ran the housing market, the American dream would not be about owning anything at all. It would be about gaining conditional access — granted or denied by corporations and governments. Cars, homes, even neighborhoods would look the same on the outside, but inside the system, ownership would be an illusion. Citizens would no longer stand on the foundation of property rights. They would live in a world where independence is rationed and freedom is billed like a subscription.
And remember this: just because not every automaker has adopted these tactics yet doesn’t mean they won’t. If the path is profitable, others will take it. If locking you into endless payments becomes the norm, it will spread until no brand and no industry is immune. That is why this fight matters now.
Disclaimer: This content is produced by The Craig Bushon Show Media Team for educational and commentary purposes. It reflects analysis and opinion on trends in the automobile and housing industries and their possible implications for consumer ownership. It is not legal, financial, or investment advice.
