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Saga of property insurance smacks of shell games

Since 1959, I have owned 10 homes. There was never any problem with the cost of homeowner insurance or real estate taxes. Then, about seven years ago, I got the first of several shocks.

My insurance company told me that it was no longer going to offer insurance in Florida and suggested another company. When I called that company, my new rate was doubled. From over $800, it has climbed to nearly $4,600 now.

Yet, when I still had reason to call my original insurance company, both companies shared the same 800 number. Sounds like a shell game to me.

I realize that hurricanes have racked up millions in damage claims; however, the insurance companies have added millions of new customers as well and they have enjoyed years of huge profits.

The politicians and developers have created expensive properties in areas vulnerable to storm damage, thereby creating huge liabilities for insurance companies.

Next the insurance companies began dropping customers; however, our elected politicians allowed the insurance companies to make Citizens Insurance to be at a higher rate than private insurers. What boneheads allowed that?

Now we are confronted with astronomical real estate property taxes. Even with the cap, we are not immune to escalating property taxes. We are almost held prisoners to our present homes because we will have to pay much higher taxes if we buy even a lesser valued home. Of course, the buyer of our home is subjected to much higher, prohibitive taxes also. When commissioners are queried, some say it is because Tallahassee has shifted costs to the counties. Another shell game?

Some have suggested that county commissioners are spending too much money rather than living within a reasonable budget. When confronted with the no-brainer to raise impact fees, some commissioners wanted to restudy the consultant's recommendations to death as a stall tactic so developers continue sticking it to existing property owners. When some say the impact for each new home is $30,000, some commissioners balked at $17,000. Guess who makes up the difference?

God created the world in six days and our Legislature tried to solve this dilemma in seven days.

People far smarter than I am are working on the solution but my brain says to tell the private insurance companies "adios" and let Citizens cover all property insurance in Florida. If Citizens profits, as it should, keep the funds in a catastrophic interest-bearing fund for the proverbial "rainy day."

I would still like to know how our elected politicians could let this happen to Floridians. They are killing a once vibrant economy with the lucky ones moving out of state or not moving here. The only good side is less growth. The bad side is those left behind will be taxed to make up for the losses.

Frank B. Hill, Homosassa

A few questions for 2006 congressional hopeful

This is an open letter to John Russell, who was the Democratic congressional candidate for the District 5 seat in 2006.

In October 2002, a majority Democratic Senate gifted President Bush with the power to wage unjustified war against Iraq, resulting in the deaths of 3,100 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who, for the most part, were innocent civilians. This also has led to the condemnation of the United States by the family of decent nations.

A number of those Democratic senators who voted for this atrocity are now pursuing the Democratic nomination for the presidency, including Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Christopher Dodd and John Edwards, for whom you have declared your "resolute" support.

They voted the way they did in 2002 and they now have another opportunity to do the right thing. I would now ask you: When might we expect that to happen? Or, having witnessed their current rhetoric, triangulations and nondenial-denials a la Watergate, should we expect that they will continue to blandly dismiss their responsibility and once again deny the electorate the courage, intelligence and goodwill vital to the sound and moral administration of the world's most powerful - some would argue now most evil - nation?

Please consider this from Robert Scheer: "Not all lies are created equal. It is understood that there is a chasm of importance between little white lies and big black ones. Most would agree that lying about a consensual sexual affair, even by the president, is of significantly lesser concern than lying about the proliferation of nuclear weapons as an excuse to take the nation to war.

"How, then, is it possible that a Republican-controlled Congress impeached President Bill Clinton over his attempt to conceal marital infidelity but that a Democratic-led Congress will not even consider impeaching this president for far more serious transgressions against the public trust?"

Now, Mr. Russell, I, having voted for you this past November, believe I have the right to ask you, perhaps the duty to my local Democratic fellows to ask you:

1. When can we expect this Democratic majority to do the right thing - not the little stuff, not insurance or even taxes, but the main menu: stopping the war quickly, and bringing the warlords to the bar of impeachment?

2. How can you ever expect those who voted for you in 2006 and others to support a presidential candidate who could not muster the courage or intelligence to make the right choice in giving away constitutionally unprecedented war powers?

3. How can you ever expect those who voted for you in 2006 and others to vote for you again in light of your "resolute" support of such a presidential choice?

The last time I invited this dialogue with you, you chose to avoid issues by characterizing my concerns as a "rant." I, and others who voted for you, sincerely hope that you will respond more productively this time, or must we start now to seek a different congressional candidate?

Rafe Pilgrim, Crystal River

Social Security fund gets our money, but we get IOUs

Early in Ronald Reagan's presidency he addressed the American people, saying, "I can think of no more important domestic problem requiring resolution than restoring the integrity of Social Security." He earned the trust of the American people and enjoyed unanimous support for his 1983 Social Security reform package.

The comprehensive plan would make Social Security solvent for the next 75 years by gradually increasing tax contributions and the retirement age. New trust fund surpluses would be used for future financial obligations, created by retiring baby boomers. Americans trusted their president and continue to honor their part of the deal, generating 12.4 cents for every gross dollar earned up to a maximum of $97,500, and are waiting an additional 10 months for full retirement.

Billions of excess dollars flowed into the trust fund; however, like most political fixes, this fix had a built in gotcha. The gotcha mandates exchanging excess trust fund dollars for IOUs, resulting in contributions being spent for something other than intended, a direct violation of the trust Americans put in President Reagan. The IOU-for-dollar swap effectively turns paid contributions into future obligations against workers and their families.

These instruments of financial pain now total more than $2-trillion and are increasing at the rate of $200-billion annually. Recently, President Bush said, "There is no Social Security trust fund, just IOUs that I saw firsthand, that future generations will pay." He should know, as this president and his administration have spent more trust fund excess cash than all previous administrations combined.

Our trust dollars helped to fund huge tax breaks for the richest 1 percent of Americans and an ill-advised incursion into a foreign country, to name a couple. Not to be outdone, the "I'm entitled" selfish seniors clamor for more Medicare, more senior discounts and bigger cost-of-living adjustments. Our trust has been violated and must have consequences.

Replacing Grandpa's check with an IOU seems to be an appropriate consequence, since history suggests he approves of this procedure. So, Grandpa, have a ball and don't worry - there's plenty more IOUs where that one came from.

Jim Gries, Homosassa

[Last modified February 12, 2007, 22:38:32]