Not Consumer Friendly Tort Reform

As we approach a new legislative session in Baton Rouge our Republican legislators have made it very clear that one of their  major agenda items will be tort reform in our state.  Particularly as it relates to automobile accidents.  They want to limit one’s ability to sue insurance companies, and claim that such measures will lead to lower auto insurance premiums.

However, what all supporters of tort reform intentionally failed to address is there is NO guarantee that such reform will lower auto insurance rates.  Supporters outside the insurance industry just assume that the big state auto insurers will out of the kindness of their hearts lower their rates as a reward for hindering one’s ability to bring a legal suit against them.

Despite what these companies would want you to believe, one of their biggest money makers is auto insurance.   Why would anyone be so naïve to assume that any change, that would allow them to make even more profit by limiting law suits, would be offset by them lowering their insurance  premiums?

Let’s see how supportive the auto insurance companies and the Louisiana Association of  Business and Industry, which is also pushing for change, would be of auto insurance tort reform if it was tied to a  mandated across the board 25% decrease in premiums charged.

This is the only type of tort reform that would actually benefit the consumer.  As tort reforms are now proposed, only the insurance companies benefit, and that’s just the way they want it.

Political Profiling

It’s pretty sad where we are today as a society regarding our obsessive needs to catalogue people based upon their perceived political beliefs.  And we follow this up with a complete dismissal of these individuals from our lives if their beliefs differ from ours.  Because of political beliefs we curtail contacts with family members, end memberships in organizations, break off long term friendships, and in extreme cases even end marriages.

A perfect example of just how damaged we are as a nation is the recent Garth Brooks’ concert which took place in Detroit.  Garth came out on stage wearing a football jersey with the number 20 on it and the name Sanders printed across its front.  Pictures of him wearing this outfit quickly made their way to social media where condemnation comments lite up.  They included such statements as “Brooks is a f..king liberal socialist,” “He needs to stop mixing his music with politics,” “I’m never buying anymore of his music”, etc, etc, and so on, and so on.

Actually Garth Brooks was honoring one of the great running backs of football, Barry Sanders, No. 20 of the Detroit Lions.  It was not a political endorsement for Bernie Sanders for the 2020 election!

Sadly, more and more of our everyday actions model what occurred at the Garth Brooks’ concert.  Our   behavior and speech are judged solely in political terms.  Coupled with this is an obsessive need to lump individuals in a “for” or “against” paradigm as it relates to our political schema.

We no longer care about the overall worth of a particular person as a total being , but instead simply cast him/her aside from our shared world based upon political beliefs.

When I once stated to a friend that I was friends with a certain individual, I was immediately questioned as to how I could interact with an individual that was so opposite from my political beliefs.  It was abhorrent to this individual that any such interaction could even take place.  He seemed shocked and totally confused when I replied that this person was a good individual and enjoyable to interact with in my life.  He was always somebody who I could count on to “have my back.”   We just don’t discuss politics.  Regrettably, this was beyond this questioning individual’s comprehension.

Stop obsessively reading the garbage on social media and stop “politically profiling” individuals to judge whether they are worthy to be in your life.

Family, friendships, and spouses are forever.  Political figures will come and go, and in reality almost all could never even remotely be considered your friends.