July 9, 1999

This week, the California State Assembly began discussing three state Senate-passed bills that would reduce the cost of car insurance for poor Californians, emphasizing those located in south central Los Angeles.

Although defining "poor" can stump sociologists and economists, politicians will doubtless reach some arbitrary consensus on the poverty line and the rest of us will be paying for yet another non-essential handout.

The problem with deciding who should be helped with what living costs is that we are extending into ever-finer considerations. Nobody wants anyone to die of hunger, but the social engineers are already supplying the "needy" with silent second mortgages, every kind of recreational outlet, pop culture CDs and videotapes through our libraries, basic housekeeping instruction through Head Start, etc. Do we really want to subsidize the privilege of driving a car?

A recent report from the California Department of Insurance identified characteristics of uninsured motorists. As with poverty in general, the demographics are inseparable from age factors: the uninsured were more likely to fall between 18 and 24 years old, have only a high school education or less, and have lived in (rented) homes for short periods of time.

In other words, many are kids and young adults just starting out. Do you remember your living standard from high school to age 25? Even - or especially - if you were in college, you were probably like me, using buses and shoe leather to get around and living in "quaint" apartments.

Why, right after The Husband Kurt and I married, we lived in a run-down mobile home. Yes, we are former "trailer trash" (that's sarcasm, folks) and proud of it! Actually, it was a smart move because we used the money from selling it as a down payment on an old Victorian house. But whether young or old, the state has no business micromanaging people's lifestyles: Nobody owes anybody a car, not even in L.A.

One of the bills has some real merit, though. It would authorize insurers to offer auto policies without coverage for "permissive drivers," that is, drivers using the insured's car with permission. Letting insured drivers buy named-driver-only coverage would reduce premiums up to 15 percent and allow us another way to eliminate costly, unwanted coverage.

© 1999 Cynthia Hahn