Our choices: Pay now, pay later

Matt Pearl

One could sum up the two basic differing philosophies of the human race with a single ridiculous metaphor: the inkjet printer vs. laser printer.

Each has its advantages, and each has its downfalls. The inkjet printer offers an economic advantage when it’s time to buy one off the shelf. It’s cheap, lightweight and generally works with any computer.

The laser printer is more pricey. It’s also heavier and generally larger when it sets on your desktop. Advantage inkjet.

But there’s a reason they’re practically giving away inkjets: because they know they can sell you expensive ink for your printer over and over again. You won’t be replacing your toner in your laser printer nearly as often. Advantage laser printer.

So it comes down to the two great choices we face in society: do I pay more now, or do I get today’s bargain and pay later?

We make the decision the way a gambler reads the table: we take everything we know into account, and guess at what will happen next. We consider how often we’ll print, how long those four ink cartridges will last, how long we expect to own the machine, etc.

It’s not unlike choosing a healthcare plan, actually.

Do I get the bronze and save the money now, and gamble that I won’t get sick or injured? Or do I spring for the silver, which would cover my family a little better in case the unforeseen comes along?

I would give the thought process that accompanies the gold plan, but I literally know no one who is even considering paying the premiums associated with the top-tier options.

The printer/insurance quandaries must just represent the way we are––or rather the two spending options we tend to create in society. Would we rather keep the money in our pockets now, or have better security in the future?

Whichever we choose, it should be obvious to all of us that the smart companies out there have figured us out. They offer a cheap option that the masses choose to save the money up front––and they offer the Rolls Royce plan that is a better value, but can be cost prohibitive in the now.

I despise inkjet printers, and I despise low-tier insurance plans with outrageous deductibles––but I have both. Saving money in the present all too often outweighs our practice of saving for the future.

But American society seems always to produce two choices––the get what you want now choice, and the have something better later choice. I would equate that to presidential elections, but as you can see, I’m running out of column space. I’ll save that discussion for another time.

Sometimes the now choice is a necessary pick: we can’t spend what we can’t afford. Other times, an investment in the future can far outweigh the belt-tightening we have to perform in the present to enable spending for the good of tomorrow.

It’s another unfortunate truth that people become polarized in idealized beliefs, which puts them always on one side of the issue or the other. In doing so, they never consider that a share of the one now and the other down the road might be beneficial.

I mentioned I have inkjet printers in my office, for example––but I also have toner. One serves temporary, specialized needs; the other is the more permanent mainstay of the office. Balance can be a good thing, and sometimes it’s downright necessary.

Matt Pearl owns and operates newspapers in King City, Albany, and Grant City.