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Reading this story in the Times, and I was moved to comment…I say good for State Farm. I used to respect Charlie Crist, but somewhere along the the line he forgot what the Republican party stood for (like many of his colleagues). The state doesn’t get to price risk. Residents of Florida (and other Gulf Coast states) have tried to have it both ways for too long. You can’t live on a beach in the path of hurricanes and pay low homeowners insurance rates. To think otherwise is just dirt stupid.
The insurance industry (not my favorite by any means) deserves the right to price risk to maintain profits and reserves. If the state government of Florida thinks it can do better (and not cost taxpayers money), then they should be just fine with State Farm exiting the market. It will be an interesting experiment however, the first time that the state plan has to pay off massive claims from a Katrina or Andrew-like disaster. Obviously underfunded, they’ll have no choice but to:
- Raise taxes
- Raise premiums
If they raise taxes across the entire population to help pay off the claims of the fortunate few who live in harm’s way, don’t you think there will be some sort of political price to pay? I’m sure as hell betting that’s the case. If they raise premiums to account for the true cost of insurance, they’re most likely gonna find themselves squarely in the same zipcode that State Farm wanted to be in but was denied by the regulators.
I certainly hope Crist is the one to pay the political cost of this misbegotten policy – what a moron this guy has turned out to be. On a national level, those of us who choose to live in low-risk places have subsidized those who live in harm’s way. Katrina was a tragedy. Allowing New Orleans to rebuild was pure folly. I suppose we’ll be happy to pony up another $80 billion in federal (read taxpayer) relief the next time a major storm blows through and (quite predictably) wipes out the idiots who live on the beach.
If there’s a benefit to living on the water, in the path of hurricanes, floods, and other disasters – isn’t it the responsibility of those who choose to live there to pay for the costs that are associated with such a decision?
I used to really love Chris Matthews. The journalist on MSNBC who hosts the show Hardball . There’s also a syndicated version of the show (up here on Sunday mornings) that got me hooked. I had always suspected he had Democratic (the party) tendencies, but for months/years he seemed to keep things pretty impartial on the show, playing his particular version of hardball with Democrats and Republicans alike. All that seemed to change with the last election. I watched as Matthews became more and more partisan, anti-Republican and very much pro-Obama. I got the impression that if Obama was in the room, it would be all Chris could do to keep himself from humping Obama’s leg, like one of my unruly, retarded dogs. The “Chill Ran Up My Leg” quote made me want to vomit. It’s a shame too, open-minded citizens need journalists with integrity, who can still be impartial, Matthews used to be one – he isn’t any more. If I wanted what he’s serving lately I’d watch Olbermann or O’Reilly. You can call it passion, but you can’t call it impartial. At least the syndicated show is still worth watching, the MSNBC version is pure tripe.
Is anyone else sick about the merchandizing of Barack Obama? Don’t know about you, but I haven’t been able to turn on the TV in the last month without seeing adds for some really tacky, worthless stuff that ostensibly captures the rapture of Obama-worship. Guys, commemorative coins and plates from such paragons of quality like the Franklin Mint are not an investment. These gewgaws are worthless, unless you’re one of the people who can envision his/her great-grandchildren at some filming of Antiques Roadshow 90 years from now in Seattle learning that their Barack Obama inaugural plate is now worth – wait for it – $300. These are not limited editions. They’re not rare, and other than making you feel good about Obama’s wonderful ride to the White House, they ain’t worth shit. What’s ironic (at least to me), is that the people who will be purchasing these are the people least likely to be able to afford them. I picture some little old grandmother, who lives on a fixed income in Harlem or Topeka, who’s spending money she doesn’t have to invest in this garbage. It’s targeted at a the same poor population that buys lottery tickets. The further irony is that many of these people are the ones who sent in $5 or $10 to support Obama’s campaign. It’s sad, and I don’t know why someone doesn’t expose this for the scam that it is. I’m also quietly furious that Obama himself does nothing to check this. My guess is that before these idiots issue a commemorative Elvis plate, they have to get permission from his estate to use his image and pay for that right. Why isn’t the same true for Obama? I’d be OK if he was receiving licensing fees from this that went to charity – otherwise, he should make this stop and denounce this shameful use of his image to fleece the American public. If the idiots sill wanna buy after that, I’m OK with it – it’s their money and I’m all about personal responsibility.
PSNH still sucks. I’m not changing my tune or dropping this until I hear that they’ve been fined as a result of the New Hampshire investigation into their behaviors during the December ice storm. I keep looking for it, but my guess is that the spineless idiots who now govern the Granite state (John Lynch = asshole), will drop this quietly as the event fades into the collective memory. In my own version of the Audacity of Hope, I’ll keep blogging away – representing the outraged voice in the wilderness.
I’m so happy the inauguration is over – although as I write this the cable news channels are still showing footage from yesterday. Obama’s on the job now. Tell us what we’ve won. Full disclosure, I voted for neither Obama or McCain – I basically disagreed with both of their policies. Obama’s intelligent and likable, but I’m scared to death he’s a classic tax-and-spend liberal, and nothing I’ve seen lately makes me think otherwise. Latest numbers I’m hearing are for a “stimulus” of $825 billion. This on top of a projected fiscal year deficit of $1.25 trillion. That’s trillion, with a “T”. The inevitable result of this will be higher taxes, and you know that some of the programs this stimulus will support aren’t going away in 1 or 2 or even 10 years. Public programs from Washington tend to live forever – they’re like Dracula in those old Hammer films, every year they look close to death, but every year they’re back sucking funds out of the metaphorical necks of taxpayers. At my office, I’m gonna say a crowd of about 50 (1/2 the company) assembled in the lunch room to watch the inauguration. My guess is that with this type of approval, Obama’s honeymoon will last somewhat longer than normal for a newly seated president. I’m hoping that the senate republicans show some solidarity (and testicular fortitude) by standing together against the most egregious spending plans. I fear however. that political survival instincts will trump personal beliefs (funny how having to run for re-election elicits this very response) and many of them will roll over like the submissive, mangy dogs that they are, and allow the Democrats to preside over the greatest expansion of government in 40 years. I’m terrified.
Anyone else wondering about the nature of Obama’s tax cuts? I am still trying to figure out how you can cut taxes for people who don’t pay taxes. I guess it’s fine to offer tax credits (which aren’t tax cuts, but spending), but it’s more politics as usual to call these tax cuts. Even if you’re refunding payroll taxes, that’s still not a cut. I thought Obama would at least be honest about what he’s doing. Guess it’s hard to resist the call to spin things your way, even if you’re the chosen one. I’ll say it again – giving low-income people who don’t pay any income taxes, a $1000 tax rebate/credit/whatever the hell you want to call it – is not a tax refund, it’s spending, and Obama and his team ought to have the balls to come out and say it. I’ll start to respect a president who doesn’t lie to the American people.
Mr. Bush did foresee the danger posed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage finance giants. The president spent years pushing a recalcitrant Congress to toughen regulation of the companies, but was unwilling to compromise when his former Treasury secretary wanted to cut a deal. And the regulator Mr. Bush chose to oversee them — an old prep school buddy — pronounced the companies sound even as they headed toward insolvency.
via The Reckoning – Bush’s Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire – Series – NYTimes.com.
Now, I’m not a fan of Mr. Bush (full disclosure, since registering Republican I’ve switched affiliation the the Libertarian party), and have been sharply critical of him over the last 8 years. However, the NY Times article laying the blame for the housing meltdown at his feet is incredibly inaccurate and one-sided. Did Bush make economic mistakes? You betcha! Going to war with Iraq being the largest waste of taxpayer dollars in recent memory. However, let’s not forget the Democrat’s tenacious defense of those early recipients of bailout largess, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I realize it’s kinda easy to forget about them as the antes to get into the bailout game have been ratcheted up, but their lax lending policies brought on by a desire to compete with private subprime lenders helped lead us into this housing mess, and don’t let anyone tell you differently.
Who can forget Barney Frank’s stalward defense of these do-nothing agencies that gave so much in contributions to the democrats. Quick digression, is it me, or would you just once, love to hear Mr. Frank yell “Thufferin’ Thuccatash!”, I mean, since Mel Blanc, has there ever been a better Sylvester impression? To think that the excerpted quote above is all the blame that Fannie/Freddie and their Democratic supporters get in this monster article is ludicrous – I used to expect more from the Times.
RJ's Musings 