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Catastrophe Fund: Florida System Dangerously Unstable
As September passed by, much of the news here in Florida appears good: Hurricanes have stayed away from U.S. coastlines, the Legislature has passed…
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Don’t Drive Away Auto Insurers
In recent weeks, political leaders have vented their anger at Michigan’s auto insurers. State Sen. Martha Scott held a rally at the capital in…
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The Mania of Central Planning
Lansing, Mich. Coleman Young II is on a roll. Standing outside of the Michigan legislature’s baronial house chamber, the young politician, scion of…
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Make Florida More Hurricane-Resistant
As hurricane-ridden September passes by, much of the news in Florida appears good: Hurricanes, so far, have stayed away from U.S. coastlines, the Legislature…
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Floridians Still On Hook to Pay for Hurricane Destruction
Even if Florida avoids catastrophe during the 2009 hurricane season, the state’s system for insuring itself against storms will remain dangerously unstable.
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The Meltdown Next Time
When the insurance giant American International Group was threatened with collapse in late 2008, its credit default swap business and other international operations were…
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New Dem Tax for Speculators Will Hurt Individual Investors
Some Democrats in Congress and their Big Labor allies at the AFL-CIO are pushing a tax proposal intended to reduce stock market speculation.
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Coastal Insurance Reforms a Good Start
When he took office at the beginning the year, Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin set his sights on North Carolina’s broken coastal insurance system. Now…
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Government Run-Health Coops Would be Different
Re: "The insurance co-op is already in your neighborhood," Aug. 19 State Farm is an admirably run insurer, but its structure may…
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What Caused the Chino Riot
Overcrowding gives rise to many problems in prisons but, with good management, even an overcapacity prison will almost never to erupt into massive violence.
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Insurance Against Terrorism
After hijackers destroyed the World Trade Center on 9/11, taxpayers ended up spending a lot of money to aid the injured, rebuild public infrastructure, improve…
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Limited Government Role Seen in Tackling Catastrophe Risks
Q: What role should the federal government play in setting natural catastrophe policy? The federal government certainly has a role to play…
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How Should the Census Count Prisoners?
In today’s New York Times, NYU law professor Anthony Thompson takes on the interesting issue of how those in prison should be counted in…
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California’s Prison Problem
A federal judge has ordered California to cut the size of its largest-in-the-nation prison system by almost 43,000 inmates. The system is overcrowded,…
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Health Reform Can’t Copy Auto Insurance
Republicans and Democrats have looked to auto insurance as a model for reforming an expensive health care system that leaves millions without coverage and…
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Protection Is a Team Effort
Floridians, don't let the current lack of hurricane activity lull you into a false sense of security. As a low-lying peninsula jutting out into the…
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Auto Insurance Works – So Why Doesn’t Health Insurance
Those looking for solutions to America’s health insurance bills can see a lot to admire in the auto insurance market. Auto coverage purchasers throughout…
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Beach Plan Fix Would Require Another Fix Later
Although thoughts of hurricane season conjure up images of devastated trailer parks, fearsome storm surges, and ruined roads, North Carolina has more to worry…
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Worst Idea of the Year
Later today [1:00 p.m. Thursday 7-9-9] former FEMA administrator James Lee Witt and former Coast Guard head James Loy –America’s two most trusted emergency…
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Why The Madoff Sentence is Too Long
Bernard Madoff is an evil con man. He should spend the nearly all the rest of his miserable life in prison. But the 150-year…
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Non-Profits Can Help the District’s Failing Economy
Public charities — organizations that do everything from advocating for wildlife to supporting stronger national defense — are the heart of Washington, D.C.’s private…
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Eliminating Prison Rape
It has been far too long in coming but, yesterday, the Federal Prison Rape Elimination commission released its report on elimination and prevention efforts…
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How to Start a Trade War: Rep. Neal’s Terrible Plan to Tax Offshore Reinsurance Companies
For much of the last decade, Massachusetts Democrat Richard Neal has banged away at proposals for vast tax increases on "offshore affiliated reinsurance"–coverage that…
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Bill in Congress Would Make a Bad Situation Worse
As the 2009 hurricane season enters its early weeks, Alabama residents need to check their windows, stock up on non-perishable food and make sure…
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Retirees and Pensions Fuel GM’s Downfall
General Motors has declared bankruptcy as a result of a number of things — bad management, poor products and screwy labor relations. But in…
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An Unnecessary Insurance Burden
As it girds for the busy months of hurricane season, Mississippi has plenty to worry about. Homeowner’s insurance coverage remains difficult to find and…
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Bad Idea Blowing an Ill Wind for Insured
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has ended up at the brink of insolvency paying Hurricane Ike claims. Insurers operating near the coasts have begun…
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Legislature’s Continued Reliance on Catastrophe Fund a Disaster for Florida Finances
When it announced recently that it would rely on the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund alone for its reinsurance, Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corp. placed…
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Beach Plan Fix Requires Higher Insurance Rates on Coast
Full document available in PDF.
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The way the political winds are blowing, coastal insurance rates could go up
As it girds for hurricane season, Texas has plenty to worry about. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA)—which provides coverage for high risk coastal…
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Florida flirting with fiscal hurricane disaster
When it announced last week that it would rely on the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund alone for its reinsurance, Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corporation…
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State insurance programs flawed
Re “Insurance assurance,” editorial, April 9 The Times argues that the federal government should provide a "backstop" for state insurance funds like…
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‘Backstop’ idea appears too risky: Catastrophe fund may have opposite effect
Texans have many reasons to worry about hurricanes. Two large storms struck the state last year, insurance rates have risen steadily in most coastal areas,…
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Geithner promises repeat of Bush’s regulatory mistakes
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s testimony before Congress last weekrightly angered a lot of conservatives, small-government leftists, libertariansand other friends of the free market. And Geithner’s…
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‘Battlestar’ Rules: In the Wasteland of TV Drama, An Intergalactic Tour de Force.
Untitled Document When it premiered to high ratings in 1978, the producers of Battlestar Galactica promised their show would bring feature-film standards to…
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Time to put an end to AIG’s misery
Sometimes, it seems like AIG’s crisis couldn’t get any worse. After all, what was once the world’s largest insurance company has already consumed…
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Geithner’s Power Grab: Not All Bad
Testifying before the House of Representatives today, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner asked for vast new powers to oversee banks, investment houses, hedge funds, and…
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Is a ‘modern hermit’ the best poet for laureate
The Niagara River by Kay Ryan Grove, 97 pp., $14 Kay Ryan writes fine, thoughtful, accessible poetry. A master of…
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States Broke the Insurance Regulatory System
About six months after the U.S. government first injected taxpayer money into AIG, the company continues to teeter on the brink of bankruptcy…
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Protectionism is the embrace of fear, the rejection of hope
In the context of America’s $17-trillion economy, $12-trillion national debt and $4-trillion federal budget, a few billion dollars worth of international trade doesn’t sound…
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Insurer’s Exit Leaves Florida on the Brink
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Eli Lehrer: “The U.S. government has no business taking over banks.”
Nationalize U.S. Banks: In light of the financial crisis, the U.S. should nationalize banks, taking over the most troubled ones. Pro: The…
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State Farm exit will leave Florida on the brink
State Farm’s decision to quit providing homeowners insurance in Florida shows that the state’s insurance market simply can’t survive in its current form.
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Wetlands–An Environmental Issue for Free Marketeers
Conservatives have good reason to question parts of the environmental movement’s wish-list. Proposals for new energy taxes, “green jobs” programs, and restrictions…
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State Farm’s exit leaves Florida on the brink of a crisis
State Farm’s decision to quit providing homeowners insurance in Florida shows that the state’s insurance market simply can’t survive in its current…
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Don’t Just Shrink Government — Run It Right
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A Distinctly American Poem; An inaugural poem that celebrates the romance and beauty of everyday life.
Elizabeth Alexander’s inaugural poem, "Praise Song for the Day," doesn’t qualify as a great poem, but it might emerge as an important one. As…
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Time to shore up the Beach Plan
Insurance Commissioner-elect Wayne Goodwin has called North Carolina’s Beach Plan a “ticking time bomb.” He’s right. The plan, intended to provide “last…
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What is Insurance?
Full Document Available in PDF Insurance is a type of financial product that serves to pool, manage and mitigate against unexpected…
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Natural Poet: Environmental lyrics are more appealing than political verse
Red Bird by Mary Oliver Beacon, 96 pp., $23 In a land where few poets can make more than a…