Good!
Could it be that insurance companies have taken the place of the telephone companies as the ultimate hateful things?
Harry
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Brian wrote:
Hi Harry, I think you will enjoy his sarcasm. Take care, BrianPublished on Saturday, November 30, 2002 by the Boulder Daily Camera GOP Shows Compassion for Insurance Companies by Christopher Brauchli All losses are restor'd and sorrows end. Shakespeare, Sonnet 30 The voting machines had scarce grown cold when the lame ducks began plucking the fruits of the election from the legislative tree. Although many of us had feared that Congress would do nothing meaningful in the short post-election period it was to be in the nation's capital, we were in for a pleasant surprise. Congress decided to do some really meaningful things, one of which was to pass the eagerly anticipated Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, a bill that had been blocked by a group of Democrats who have little understanding about what it is that makes this country great, something Republicans have always understood. (One thing the Democrats showed they did understand, now that they had lost control of most everything, was that there was no sense in trying to block passage of bills that would pass as soon as Republicans took control in January.) Hence, the passage of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002. Republicans frequently complain that Democrats are all too quick to suggest that the country's problems can be fixed by an infusion of taxpayer dollars. Republicans know that in most instances all that is needed to solve life's problems is for those in need to take advantage of good old American know-how, with which all native born Americans (and some immigrants, too) are endowed. Nonetheless, as the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act demonstrates, flexibility is not a completely foreign concept to the Republicans. They demonstrated that they are quite willing, if those truly in need can make a case for it, to set aside their reluctance to use taxpayer dollars and help out those in need. And what better candidates for Republican compassion than the nation's insurance companies? Insurance companies, almost as much as the firefighters and police, proved themselves heroes of 9/11. It is estimated that they paid out more than $40 billion to those suffering losses. Even though that is what they are paid to do, it was nonetheless wonderful to see the American system at work as the companies wrote out checks large and small to those affected by the disaster. The companies were proud to be part of the restorative post 9/11 efforts, but at the same time were concerned that paying such large losses could adversely affect their balance sheets and, indirectly, their shareholders. Their concern was mostly hypothetical because 9/11 did not adversely affect their bottom lines for the long term. According to the Consumer Federation of America, insurers reported a 66.4 percent increase in profits in the first six months of 2002 which meant that they were restored to health in a way that other victims of 9/11 could never hope to be. Nonetheless, they were worthy of the president's and Congress' sympathy and that, plus a potentially enormous bailout, is exactly what they got. And they got it not from their stockholders or policy holders but from the likes of you and me. The act gives every taxpayer in the United States a vehicle to ride to the rescue of insurance companies should disaster ever strike the companies (and the United States) again. And if anyone is wondering why the taxpayer would want to bail out a private company, the answer was given by Michael G. Oxley, an Ohio Republican member of Congress who in a goose-bump-raising kind of eloquence said: "The glue that holds our economy together is insurance." The Senate bill helps insurance companies quit being insurers although that is not, for obvious reasons, how it is presented. What it does is provide for large sums to be paid by taxpayers to insurance companies to insure the companies against losses they might otherwise suffer from future large-scale terrorist attacks. Those sums will be available for each of the next three years. Obviously, the taxpayers don't pay all the claims. That wouldn't be fair. The insurance companies pay the first $10 billion. (By definition it's not considered an act of terrorism if the damages suffered are less than $5 billion.) In addition, in 2003 insurance companies will be responsible for paying a deductible equal to 7 percent of the premiums received the previous year. The deductible rises to 10 percent in 2004 and 15 percent in 2005. The taxpayers are then permitted to participate by paying 90 percentof all losses in excess of more than $10 billion in the first year up to a maximum of $90 billion. In the second year our obligation is only $87.5 billion and in the third year it drops even further to $85 billion. And, of course, if there are no terrorist attacks, then we won't have to pay anything and that gives us yet another reason to hope that there are no more terrorist attacks. Finally, the industry is required to repay us for our help through a surcharge on commercial policyholders, for payments up to $10 billion in the first year, $12.5 billion in the second year and $15 billion in the third year. An occasional taxpayer may wonder why the taxpayer is being called upon to bail out the insurance company. Anyone wondering that, needs to be reminded of Mr. Oxley's turn of phrase — that insurance is the glue that hold the economy together. We taxpayers aren't glue, we're just people, but we're honored to be able to help out the economy by helping out insurance companies. It makes us feel important. It makes the insurance companies feel more affluent. What a happy coincidence. Christopher Brauchli is a Boulder lawyer and and writes a weekly column for the Knight Ridder news service. He can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002, The Daily Camera
****************************** Harry Pollard Henry George School of LA Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (818) 352-4141 Fax: (818) 353-2242 *******************************
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