Quite. We're obsessed with first cost over lifetime cost. Lisa and I are facing this with the replacement of the Furnace of Death. Do we spend $$ to patch-and-mend the existing system or $$$ for a new furnace, or $$$$ for a high-quality, long-lasting heat pump system that will be more efficient and save money on operating costs over the long term.

I read something not too long ago that suggested that a lot of our decisions overall these days are being driven by the general aging of the population, as people on the whole don't seem to think it matters to buy something that lasts or to invest in anything with a long-term payback (like infrastructure projects like High Speed Rail) because they personally don't expect to live long enough to reap any reward from it. The author called it "A going-out-of-business sale for the Baby Boom."