[craigimass]

Lots of words, but do they translate....in the EXACT same type of situation you are talking about?

"Based on studies of the effects of states' enactment, repeal, or weakening of universal helmet laws, use approached 100 percent when all motorcyclists were required to wear helmets, compared with about 50 percent when there was no helmet law or a law applying only to some riders"

Hmmm..that big bad government regulation once again smoked out your "people are rational" ideals.

As to the result:
"Death rates were lowest in states with helmet laws that cover all riders"
"Kentucky repealed its universal helmet law in 1998, followed by Louisiana in 1999. These actions resulted in lower helmet use, and quickly increased motorcyclist deaths in these states by 50 percent and 100 percent, respectively"

Wow, lots of dead people! And we are not even talking about the walking wounded. Once again, PRICE seems to be the major point in the entire rant about car insurance above.

My ideals are based in QUALITY OF LIFE and SAFETY. These two things do not always meet with PRICE, despite some ideologues imagining that they do.

As to the price of car insurance, I am used to fairly high rates having lived in Philly and NJ. In NJ there is little softening (regulation) of the rates - meaning that if you end up having an accident or two, you might as well quit your job because you will not be able to afford $500 or even $800 a month for car insurance. In Ma, however, the pool is a bit more reasonable...at least to me. You do get hit if you have an accident, but your rates do not triple or quadruple or worse. Being a good driver, my rates have gone lower and lower and I consider them very reasonable...at least compared to other things in my life.

And, in the end, that is all I care about. Whether it is regulated or not, or whether the insurance company makes 5% or 50% is of little interest to me. I just don't want to have to micromanage my entire life too much.

Insurance, by definition, is shared risk...or Socialism in your terms. The person who has an accident which causes $200,000 in property and medical bills (very common, actually) could NEVER pay enough premiums to offset that cost and risk. So, we communists decide to institute shared risk...regulation...and insurance in order to come up with a compromise we all can live with.

It really does beat the law of the jungle, IMHO.