I almost fell off my chair when I heard our financial analyst Barry Armstrong talk about insurance rates probably going up ten per cent this year in Massachusetts and probably ten per cent after that the following years.
It has nothing to do with the insurance companies jacking up rates to benefit the bottom line. It has everything to do with distracted driving.
For all the talk that lawmakers have paid to the subject, they have done precious little to get a handle on what the insurance industry says is among the biggest problems they face.
Massachusetts Lawmakers have gone about correcting the problem in an interesting way. They have done nothing. Years ago they passed a measure that bans texting while driving but let stand a measure that would let you place a phone call. They would tell you in a moments notice that it was not necessary to go that far.
And so we have the predicament that we are in now. Skyrocketing insurance rates in a state already known for high business costs and taxes. Just add one more thing.
Lawmakers can pass this measure without any debate and in short order. They have a history of doing things fast when they really want to. It took them about 20 minutes to pass their pay raise. Certainly this can’t be a big lift for them.
And if it works everyone looks good. And, if it doesn’t then repeal it and leave it be. Doing something that doesn’t work is not ever a problem. Trying to solve a problem by doing nothing or not going far enough is.
(JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)