The arguments against owning equipment are economic. However, for those who are sufficiently affluent, they will pay whatever to have things their way. It is what almost all of us do when we are flush with money. I know wealthy reltives who NEVER return defictive items still under warranty or eligible for refund because they are too busy and find it a hassle and it is easier to just toss the defective device and just buy a new one. It's a lot like when people want our time and energy and some people respond, "can't I just write you a check?' If you have the money, it is far easier to write a check than worry about sound economics. Yes, do things they way you feel comfortable and better about, but it does COST $$ to do that. For the rest of us, we lease because it is LESS money. I've only owned in the past when Dish did not subsidize more than 2 boxes, and I paid/owned for the 721, they only way to get that box. But today, owning makes no economic sense, and is an affluent option for those who want more control or feel better in their own minds about "owning" something. Hey, even the rich finance big items with the bank because it is less money OUT for quite some time, and when they sell it, they still have all that money they never had to spend to own it without the bank and suffer far less if the value decreases by the time they do sell it. Huge corporations finance as well. Best to keep the cash. But financing seems un-intuitive by most people, and understandably so.
