The initiative process is spiraling out of control in California. (For those of you who are not in California, we have a process where individuals, in theory, can have a measure placed on the ballot assuming they meet all sorts of rules. This process has been taken over by corporations trying to skirt the legislature.)
I previously wrote about Mercury Insurance’s attempt to undo Prop. 103. I think this is a bad idea. Of course, I am not such a fan of the Department of Insurance’s ideas on rating insurance for drivers either. Now, comes ANOTHER initiative.
I like Harvey Rosenfield, author of Prop 103 and an all around good guy. I think he does good work. But, I think his latest initiative, while serving a great purpose, is not needed. Why?
Quite simple. We get into this war of initiatives. I introduce one you don’t like, and you in turn introduce one that I don’t like. So, the next election cycle comes and the same thing starts again. Did anyone happen to see what happened to our governor with this last election? The initiative process in California is broken. Someone needs to stop and I think Harvey should be that guy. Why? Because I think he should take the high road.
I sent Harvey an email the other day. Here is the text:
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I saw that Mr. Joseph (Mercury’s president) is considering an initiative to give people buying new policies a discount if they have pre-existing coverage. I understand your opposition, but why not a middle ground where he gets that but people buying the low income policy also get a discount? It will ultimately serve the goal of increasing the number of insured drivers while providing more competition among insurance companies for already insured consumers.
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I think, in my opinion, that this is a good goal. However, I think at this point the political consultants have too much influence and the process is down a slope from which it will not return. I just hope people will stop playing politics and fix a broken insurance system.