Entries tagged as ‘insurance companies’
Quote of the Day:
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” –Mahatma Gandhi
It’s been awhile since TB mentioned how I feel about Corporate America. I need to vent.
In March, 2008, I purchased a three year subscription to XM Satellite Radio. I love that product. Sirius/XM programming is possibly the greatest thing since toasted bread. However I hate the freakin company. For the past week I’ve been putting up with mail, email, and at least a dozen phone messages telling me that my account is past due and my service is set to be interrupted. Number one, I better not have far to drive when they cut me off. Number two, by my math three years won’t run from March 2008 until March 2011. The New Dehlian collections rep I was routed to with the thick English accent can’t get that salient factoid through his thick ass skull. Allow me to recount our conversation (much of his part I was forced to piece together based on my experience viewing Slum Dog Millionaire and The Simpsons and my past history with Corporate American customer service):
- TB–Hi, this is TB. I keep getting these notices that my account is overdue. It’s not.
- Mahatma–Yes Sir. Thank you sir. I can help you with that. Ok, pulling up your account. Ah! It’s overdue. If you will just provide me with your credit card number I will take care of it.
- TB–I don’t think you understood me. I don’t owe you any money.
- Mahatma–Yes Sir! Thank you for that Sir! And that account number issssss?
- [it goes on like this for quite awhile--I'll spare you]
- TB–Listen, I’m not giving you any money. What I need from you is a copy of my account going back three years. Find all my payments and orders and we’ll sort this out.
- Mahatma–Yes Sir!!!! I can do that for you Sir! Right away, I’m putting in a request for that right now. And if you’ll just provide me with your…
- [Dial tone--or maybe just silence, depends on what kind of phone he was using I guess]
I still haven’t gotten that damn email. And did you notice, Mahatma was a COLLECTIONS rep. A quick search of this problem on the Google revealed people who claim when their subscriptions expire–expire, not become delinquent–Sirius/XM immediately refer them to collections. God help me if that’s what they’ve done to me.
Here’s the thing. I do my part. I pay my freakin bills. On time. Always. In return I expect to get the mother freakin’ service I am promised, nothing more, nothing less. What I also have come, sadly, to expect is that if the company operates on more than a local basis, they will continually attempt to screw me out of an extra dollar, or more likely a hundred dollars, in diabolically ingenius ways. Every freakin’ company I deal with is like Wil-E-Coyote and I’m the sheep dog, clocking in each morning to try to protect myself, my family and my clients. And be assured &*^%$, that this XM &^%*^* is just the straw that made me mother ^&%$#’n snap. Allstate, who I have sent money to for 24 years without making a single claim is holding about $75 they owe me when I cancelled my prepaid policy to combine my coverage with my wife’s. My former agent was Jenny Conn of Gautier, MS. Her staff kept me on the phone for half an hour trying to talk me out of canceling and then made me fax them confirmation. I did it and even though she has collected a commission off of me for 24 long years without doing a ^%#$& bit of work, she is part of Allstate and together they can’t get by without returning my unused premium.
Oh, that ain’t all, one of our health insurers started several years ago denying a dollar or two from periodic checkup payments and sticking them on me because the doctor’s bills were “above reasonable and customary.” Each year that nuisance amount I’ve had to pay has gone up a couple of bucks until this year when the denied part has suddenly become almost one-third of the entire cost.
The chain that services my air conditioner came out three times last summer. I spent about $800 on repairs and I was assured the problem was finally solved. Lo and %&$#ing behold. I turn on the AC for the first time and there is no cool air. Wising up, I called in a local independent guy who tells me there’s a leak and a major part needs to be repaired. It will cost about $1200. Except that for ME it will cost $2000 because I spent $800 on &^%*’n nothin last year.
Believe me, there’s more.
And so I ask you, am I the only mother %$#&ing one? Because from what I can tell, about half the country is apeshit crazy to defend Corporate America to the last drop of blood and the other half claims to be on to the scam but steadfastly refuse to act. A little help? Really, I want to know. Am I the only one?
32.428476
-90.132309
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Allstate, conversations, corporate America, corporations, customer service, greed, insurance companies, Jenny Conn, rant, satellite radio, XM
Quote of the Day:
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” –Act IV, Henry VI, William Shakespeare
Today’s QOTD is TB’s all time favorite widely misunderstood quotation. The line was written not in commentary of lawyers filing too many lawsuits, nor defending murderers, nor becoming too wealthy, but rather as the first step in a plot to overthrow the government. The rebels knew it was lawyers who would oppose them through both the judicial process and in the court of public opinion by exposing the liberties being attacked, and who in the long run most threatened their violently seized political power. Rather than being offended by this famous line, most lawyers take it as a tremendous compliment, and something of a reminder of our ultimate function in society.
I became mindful once again of the widespread public ignorance of this quote in recent weeks as I’ve watched and read news coverage of the angry protests at town hall meetings over the issue of health care. What has been proved amidst the ballyhoo of the August Congressional recess about health care is not that it “must be passed” or “must be stopped” but that the overwhelming majority of us are arguing from a position of pure, unmitigated ignorance, not unlike the mass ignorance of the true meaning of Shakespeare’s line. I don’t exempt TB from the indictment. After all, I haven’t “read the bill”, actually, none of the several early stage bills. And I won’t read a final bill should one come to pass. Generally, I support a health care bill. I think the current state of health insurance is so bad that I’m willing to support virtually anything the insurance industry opposes. And I get that there are many that oppose government reform of health insurance as a general principle, from political dogma, or even from a cost/benefit point of view.
So ignorance I can accept, to a certain degree. There is a point at which it becomes absurd, however, where it fairly drives me to hopelessness, blankly staring down the barrel of a bleak national future. Death panels. Tyranny. Nazism. Really? This is the opposition? I will readily concede the complexity of the issue of health insurance reform. I understand concerns of intellectual right leaning thinkers who point out the long term financial implications, the issue of physician compensation and the problem of overwhelming a system with too few general practitioners and nurses. I even can see the possibility that health care will be “rationed” because of these issues, though it should be clear in any honest consideration of the issue that rationing is already rampant in our system, and is in fact the main reason reform is so badly needed. But when I hear opposition centered around death panels that will “pull the plug on grandma” or that Obama is a Nazi, I am driven away from considering legitimate opposition to blindly supporting the side whose rhetoric is exponentially less damn dubious. The Nazis are FAR RIGHT WINGERS on the political spectrum for chrissakes! Let them call Obama a Stalinist and I will applaud the mob’s improving intellect.
As for tyranny, the quote that keeps appearing on the news is one of Thomas Jefferson’s most well known. I had to look it up to learn its context as I was previously ignorant–same as Timothy McVeigh likely was and the health care mob certainly is–of the background for his line, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time by the blood of patriots and tyrants.” * The sentence is lifted from a letter written by Jefferson in 1787 in which he comments on Shay’s Rebellion, a Massachusetts uprising that stemmed from opposition to high taxes and a mounting foreclosure problem (sounds familiar). Jefferson, in full philoso-tom mode, wrote of the benefits of such a rebellion, mainly that an occasional outbreak of citizen fury would remind those tasked with governing that they remain answerable to the people. What is even more interesting is that Jefferson found the rebels’ motivations “founded in ignorance, not wickedness.” Again, it sounds familiar–mass anger, misapplied. If you are on the side of thoughtful opposition to health care reform you ought to remember the part about ignorance before you rush to the defense of your fringe allies. It is a defense that only weakens in the long run the legitimate criticisms of those opposed to health insurance reform. And if you are on TB’s side, you might consider joining me in noting the certainty that the shouters’ motivations are in most instances not founded in “wickedness” and that their boisterous presence at the town halls can serve a higher purpose of reminding all our politicians to whom they are ultimately beholden. Even if the whole affair is plagued with ignorance, from top to TB to bottom.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————–
*I find it ironic and slightly humorous that the next sentence in his letter reads, “It is it’s natural manure.”
Here is a link to the full letter containing Jefferson’s “tree of liberty” quote.
Categories: History · Philosobaen · Politics · current events
Tagged: Blank Stares, damn dubious, health care, health insurance reform, Ignorance, insurance companies, Politics, Shakespeare, Thomas Jefferson, tree of liberty, tyranny
Quote of the Day: “The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.” –James Joyce
ed. note. For another take on the AIG bonus fiasco, check out Supercynic’s blog by clicking here to the Daily Wit.
TB mentioned a few days ago that my intelligence network had gotten wind of a conversation with the CEO of AIG that was poised to take place. The “powers that be” who monitor this site apparently decided that since I would be privy to all that was said they might as well let me take part in the sit down as a representative of the people. What follows is a transcript of my conversation with AIG Capo Edward “the rat” Liddy and some faceless bureaucrat that Treasury sent over.
The Rat–So, as I was saying, without these bonuses AIG would lose much of the top talent that we’ve spent years accumulating.
Revenuer–Yes, this is an important concern. While we think the bonus payments are highly improper, your logic seems unassailable.
Man o’the people–Well Rat, on one point we can agree. It took a lot of intellect to come up with a Ponzi scheme with enough complexity to stump the prosecutors, swindle your shareholders and crash the entire world economy all the while ensuring you and your mob scored mountains of cash. Speaking of “ensure”, weren’t you formerly the Boss at Allstate? Turn around a minute so I can stick my foot up your ass for that too. With that out of the way, I must say I grudgingly admire your moxie. A lot of media types are probably going to carefully consider whether its too dangerous to lose all those foot soldiers. But as you know, I’m a man of the people. I don’t give a damn if we lose those financiers.
Rat–Whaddaya mean, “we.”
Man ‘o–I mean “we.” We own your little organization now, didn’t you hear? If TB has anything to say on the matter, we’re gonna start attending your board meetings pretty soon. I might even run for Boss. But that’s beside the point. I was addressing your loss of manpower.
Rat–You don’t want to do that mister. The whole company could go down the tubes.
Revenuer–(shifting in seat and looking around the room)
Man’o–(blank stare)
Rat–Ok, you got me there. But we need those guys to turn around the company. Only they know how the hell they broke it in the first place.
Revenuer–(nodding vigorously)
Man’o–But Rat, you still don’t get it. The people are on to you. There is no fixing AIG. It has to be rebuilt from the ground up. And I’d rather the foxes not build the henhouse this time. Your people are replaceable, even expendable. A thousand land grant grads could never figure out how to steal the way you Ivy Leaguers can, so their brand of incompetence alone will save the company billions. But the people also know, Rat, that it will never come to that. You see, we know your team will never leave these jobs. Where are they gonna go? Who’s gonna hire them?
Revenuer–Government?
Rat–You think your smart, don’t you Man’o. Got it all figured out? Well, perhaps you should consider one more thing…(beady eyed stare, twirls fingers and flashes sinister “Mr. Burns” grin)…there will be lawsuits.
Revenuer–(gasp)
Man’o–Don’t go that route Rat.
Revenuer–Yes Rat, I mean no…but whatever, don’t let them sue rat. That would cost the company a LOT of money.
Man’o–Why are you here T-man?
Revenuer–(blank stare)
Man’o–(sits back in chair, stares intently at Rat. Then shakes head, chuckles and takes a sip of cool, delicious Diet Coke–find it in your local grocery)–Rat, I’ve been tryin to get it through your skull. You are dealin with the people now. Guess who sits on juries, Rat. The people. Guess what happens before a case gets to a jury Rat. We get to take a look at all those contracts. We also get to ask about everyone’s job performance over the last decade or so. You ignorant rat bastard, I’d have already filed a lawsuit to get all this information if I was allowed. We, the people, welcome these lawsuits. To coin a phrase, bring’em on. All these arguments….are you tryin to be funny? Are you here to make me laugh? Cause I’m laughin Rat. You’re finished Rat. This meeting’s over, but first, come back over here and let me punch you right in the nose one time. For the people.
Revenuer–Anybody up for lunch? I’m buying.
Categories: Humor · Politics · current events
Tagged: AIG, AIG bonuses, Big Business, Blank Stares, conversations, current events, Edward Liddy, Happy St. Patrick's Day, Humor, insurance companies, political humor, Politics
Quote of the Day ”As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for socialism is its adherents.” –George Orwell
It can’t be plausibly denied any longer. During the Bush administration it started with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. This new cabinet level department was a massive increase in the size of government. What have we gotten from it? Record breaking duct tape sales, secret government wiretapping and a botched hurricane rescue and recovery effort. Speaking of Katrina…Because of Republican success in stripping the courts of fair minded judges and replacing them with Chamber of Commerce politicians, and because of Republican laissez-faire regulations toward insurance companies, and because of lax Republican enforcement of antitrust laws, and Republican financed propaganda attacking lawyers, all of which occured over most of the last thirty years and accelerated over the last eight, the insurance companies were allowed to pay only a fraction of the cost of recovery. They denied claims where they could find or manufacture an excuse and when flood insurance was available they allocated most of the damages to that program, financed by the government. The insurance cabal had record profits that year, and throughout the first seven Bush years. Since there was no private entity to absorb the losses that come as the natural risk of obtaining those profits, the Republicans passed a huge homeowner bailout program that sent hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to fill the gaps left by State Farm and Allstate. It was socialism.
And now this. Seven Hundred Billion dollars (insert pinky into side of mouth while reading that number). Maybe more. Eliminate regulatory rules and oversight, install political hacks to the positions where minimal oversight could still be done in order to ensure that it was not, ignore predatory lending schemes and destroy the legal recourse that lawyers were using to keep the mortgage companies reined in, and you end up with a mortgage bubble. Bubbles burst. Conservatives are all for bubbles–that’s what happens in what they inaccurately describe as free markets. Years of prosperity followed by years of panic. From 1800 through 1930, there was a “Panic” about once every 18 years, almost always instigated by real estate speculation and during a time when there was very little government oversight of markets. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it. But these days, Socialists insure the investors when the bubble bursts by using their government power to buy up worthless stock and loans. Big government to the rescue–don’t conservatives hate that? Republicans don’t.
So what has eight years of George Bush has done for us in the realm of the economy? After spending almost two trillion dollars on the Iraq war and financial bailouts, your taxes and mine are going up. It doesn’t matter who is elected. That money has to be paid back, or at the very least the debt must be substantially reduced to restore our economic prosperity. So vote Republican if you have some other reason, just don’t tell me it’s because you are conservative, you want lower taxes and you are saving us from socialism. Because the GOP has firmly established that they are a party of bigger government, runaway spending, and socialism.
Finally, enjoy this humorous take on the same subject from Time Magazine.
USA = France
Categories: Money · Politics
Tagged: damn political post, don't hate France, economy, Election, George Bush, GOP, insurance companies, katrina, Panic, Politics, Republicans, socialism
Quote of the Day “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
The U.S. Government this week “bailed out” the largest insurance company in the United States, AIG, to save it from bankruptcy. “Bailed out” is another word for “bought.” For the record, government ownership of business or industry is a basic tenet of socialism or social democracy, which sounds better. This act was undertaken by the Republican administration of George Bush. And TB is glad they did it.
I was listening just now to Senator Byron Dorgan who was called in to an emergency meeting with several congressional leaders of both parties. They were not asked, but were told what was to transpire. They were told the purchase was necessary because the failure of AIG would likely have sent our entire economy into depression and led to the failure of numerous large and small banks. They were told a failed AIG would result in numerous mutual fund collapses as the company is a top ten holding in numerous funds. And they were told a bankrupt AIG would lead to the collapse of several very large industrial companies. Dorgan wouldn’t name them, but I suspect GM and Ford would be among these names. Before I get to the guide, take a moment and consider that we were, and maybe are, on the precipice of a true Depression. I can’t even wrap my mind around the idea–it sounds alarmist and impossible. But so too did warnings of impending terrorist attacks before 9-11 and warnings of catastrophic storm surge before Katrina.
This post isn’t about blame, though you should not be surprised that I have emphatic opinions on where it lies. No, if we sink into Depression we will care much less about blame than we will about survival and recovery. I’ve put at least ten minutes of thought into these suggestions, so print this post and keep it handy if all hell breaks loose (you’ll not be able to access it online after that, probably).
- New career opportunities will abound in the field of hobo-ing. You should find a good stick, a red bandana, a hip flask and a Jed Clampett hat right away so you’ll be ahead of the crowd. Store these where you keep your terrorist attack duct tape. You can use that to tape up the toes of your walking boots.
- Start hoarding crackers and sugar packets from restaurants. I don’t know what you will do with these, but anyone who’s grandmother lived through the Great Depression knows it’s important to have lots of crackers and sugar packets saved up.
- Buy a jalopy. When you get evicted from your house you are going to need a vehicle suitable for stacking your rocking chair, HDTV, 48 pack Igloo and sack of crackers on top while still keeping enough room for at least 8 people. All the Mexicans are already in California, so instead of west, drive south to look for migrant worker employment. From what I hear on Lou Dobbs, there shouldn’t be many folks left down Mexico way.
- Figure out what you have that can be bartered. People are going to be pawning all their good stuff so you should keep your HDTV and Xbox 360 as forms of cash. Let people watch ballgames and play “The Force Unleashed” in exchange for things like beer and crackers to go on your jalopy.
- Learn how to make moonshine.
- Go ahead now and start being real nice to the ladies at your local Chinese buffet. And save those fortunes so you can learn a bit of the language.
- Work on your sad sack story. Here’s how mine starts out: “Back in ought-eight I was practicing law in courtrooms with running water and ever-thang. Used to wear a two-piece suit ever-day. Folks considered me a real gentleman. I gotta mind to get back in that game if I can ever catch a lucky break. Say mister, you wanna share this sugary cracker with me? I’ll tell ya all about it.”
- Find some good recipes for chili, stew, gopher and beans.
- Put lots of Woody Guthrie tunes on your Ipod.
- Re-think your old assumptions about macroeconomics. It’ll make for stimulating conversation as you bounce around the country in your jalopy or as you sit around a freight yard campfire over a plate of beans. It could impress your new South American overseer or your local communist Chinese overlord that you should get a little extra gopher in your stew since you might be worth saving from starvation. And if you do it soon enough, it might even make this list unnecessary.
Categories: Humor · Writing · current events
Tagged: advanced relative macroeconomic theory, advice, AIG, corporations, Depression, economy, financial crisis, funny, George Bush, Great Depression, hobo, Humor, insurance companies, Issues, Jed Clampett, Money, moonshine, Republicans, socialism, Woody Guthrie
September 1, 2008 · 1 Comment
Quote of the Weekend “#%!*&$! Bulldogs!” –Travellinbaen
TB’s been vacationing in sunny Oxford, MS, for Labor Day and away from the laptop, but there’s been lots to talk about over the last few days.
First, my ten-cent analysis on McCain’s VP choice, Sarah Palin. I think he made a shrewd choice. Obviously, McCain really believes he can take some Hillary voters whose only issue is having a woman in the White House, and this is a good way to further that goal. She’s a favorite of the oil companies so campaign funding should flow freely. And she’s definitely a DC outsider which plays to his mythological status as a “maverick”. I can’t help but marvel at the irony of him choosing someone with no experience all the while basing much of his criticism of Obama as being too inexperienced. Likewise, I can’t help but marvel at the Obama campaign’s criticism of Palin as too inexperienced. Then, I am reduced to a blank stare at the right wing talker’s indignation of the Obama campaign playing the “inexperience” card. It is well to keep in mind as emotions rise among voters for both camps that none of these people are in this game on our behalf.
Gustav, as I am told by The Weather Channel this moment, will be damaging, but not catastrophic. It’s going in at Morgan City, and I hope the best for those folks, but I’m glad they drew the short stick too. Now to wait on Hanna and her sisters lined up back to Africa and awaiting their fates upon being struck by the croquet mallets of the gods. Whatever the cause, it sure seems like their are more strong storms than ever the last few years. I hope those in west Louisiana have their insurance policies up to date and the will to sue State Farm et al when they get their lowball settlement offers.
The first weekend of college football is winding down and my school’s season is in all likelihood a lost cause. I’ve attempted to settle the rambling frenzy of frustrated and angry thoughts in to a cogent written summary of what I go through every time State lays an egg like they did Saturday. Don’t worry though, the rant is coming on my “Bulldog” page soon. Shadenfroiders rejoice. I also saw most of the Ole Miss game live. They looked very good on offense. Their new quarterback is good. He’s not as good as advertised, but probably half as much so, and that’s plenty. Defense, not so much. But they’ve got a good chance to win 7 or 8 games.
It helped soothe my bitter soul by going to the Memphis Zoo yesterday. I haven’t been since around 1993, and in the intervening 15 years, the place has really changed. It’s not huge, but the exhibits are great and the variety of animals is good. There’s lots of shade, plenty of good snacks and drinks available and some good shows. The monkeys are my traditional zoo favorite and these didn’t disappoint, but I’ve never seen a polar bear nor a kimono dragon before Sunday, so those were the highlights. I had a great day. It’s a reminder that there’s a lot of better ways to spend a weekend than sitting in front of a TV watching a hopeless football team.
Updated 9-2-08
As information has come out over the last couple of days, I am thinking my initial reaction to the Palin VP choice was a bit hasty. From association with a secessionist movement, to family values issues, to pursuing a family vendetta with government influence, and several other potential scandals I’ve not had the interest to even read about, this lady might be just a little too loony for comfort. Who knows whether these embers will become blazing infernos or simply ashes taken away with the wind, so for now, I’ll not call her a huge mistake. I think we’ll know more in a couple of weeks, but it doesn’t look like nearly as shrewd a choice as it did a few days ago.
Categories: Mississippi · Ten Cent Analysis · current events
Tagged: current events, go to hell ole miss, Gustav, hurricane, insurance companies, McCain, Memphis, Memphis zoo, Mississippi State, Obama, Ten Cent Analysis, Vice President
Quote of the Day “Squalls out on the gulfstream, Big storm’s coming soon” –Jimmy Buffett, “Trying to Reason with the Hurricane Season”
Well, we knew it would happen, and sooner rather than later. A big storm is entering the Gulf of Mexico, almost three years to the date after Katrina. Two song lines came to me as possible quotes of the day for this post and I used the Buffett one because its a melancholy song. The other one is the Leon Everette song “Hurricane” and the line “don’t mind the strain of a hurricane, it comes ’round every June.” Three years ago I’d have chosen that line, probably because I wasn’t born when Camille hit and the Mississippi hurricanes of my lifetime–Frederic, Elena and Georges– were not devastating. I thought they were at the time, but Katrina showed the falsity of my assumption.
Pre-Katrina, I’d laugh at the projections that would start when a storm was several days away. I knew from experience that most storms weakened, veered away from us, and were hyped by melodramatic weathermen excited to have their day in the sun. (I know, that’s pretty bad, but I’m leaving it.) I was tougher than any hurricane. In fact, I thought it was a good time to get some beer, hang with an ARB or two and enjoy the day(s) off. Maybe grill up all the fish and meat in the freezer.
But TB ain’t gonna lie. These storms scare the hell out of me now, and I don’t even live on the coast anymore. They scare me because I know how Katrina changed people I know and love. I know she killed some of our weaker and older people on the coast before their time, and I’m talking about in the years after, not just the hours and days. I know there are a lot of people that are gonna have a hard time facing the repairs they’ll have to make even if the storm isn’t another big one. I know State Farm and Allstate will screw them again. Those people on the coast, in Pascagoula and Jackson County in particular, are tough and self reliant and resilient. I just hope and pray they don’t have to be any of that in the next week or so.
Categories: Life · Mississippi
Tagged: current events, Gustav, hurricane, insurance companies, Jimmy Buffett, katrina, Mississippi, Pascagoula, storm
Quote of the Day “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” –Warren Buffett
For three days last week and this, TB was involved in settlement negotiations over the death of a 93 year old lady at the hands of a construction company truck driver who was unable to control his vehicle due to excessive speed. The driver braked as soon as he saw her, skidded the length of a football field, began to drift, and killed this lady who made it six inches off the road and into her driveway, but needed another couple of feet to get clear. The company and their insurer were clearly liable.
I can’t reveal the amount of money that was at stake. But I can say a couple of things without violating the confidential terms. First, though I was well aware of the “value” of these cases–to be distinguished from the value of her life–it was depressing and even shocking to hear the other side articulate their position. I read recently that the EPA was being criticized for lowering their calculation of the value of a life to 6.7 million dollars. It was around 8 million at the end of the Clinton Presidency. They had earlier tried to assign a discount to people over age 72, but retreated from that position due to numerous objections. I can tell you the value of a person who has been killed is much less than that in a civil lawsuit in Mississippi, and for a senior citizen it is a fraction of that amount. In fact, our state has seen fit, at the behest of insurance companies and ill informed, misguided and/or corrupted supporters to cap the value of such a case. I don’t know how to put a dollar value on any person’s life, at any age. I do believe when someone is needlessly and recklessly killed, the negligent party should have to face the question in court.
Here’s something I’d like someone to explain to me: If a maximum damage cap makes things more fair in some people’s opinions by preventing “jackpot justice” or a “runaway jury”, shouldn’t there also be a minimum dollar amount a life is worth?
Categories: Law · Politics
Tagged: fairness, insurance companies, Justice, Law, lawsuits, lawyers, Politics, tort reform
NOTE–the link is outdated, but the whole article is posted previous to this one.
Quote of the Day: “Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny.” – Edmund Burke
Every voter in Mississippi should read this article. Then each can decide on their on if they give a damn or not.
MS Supreme Court Bias
What the author has described is the number one open secret in legal circles in Mississippi. I’ve yet to meet a lawyer representing a plaintiff who has not heard this in settlement negotiations: ”Go ahead and get your verdict. You know we’ll get it reversed on appeal.” And we do know that.
But on a somewhat lighter note, there are other secrets that lawyers know but juries and the general populace don’t. Like the magician that revealed his profession’s tricks, I may be reviled and rejected by my peers for exposing these, but I figure I can sex it up a bit and sell it to FOX if they disbar me. Ok, sex it up a lot. A whole lot.
Do you want to be on a jury? Here’s how to do it. Sit down and shut up. If you speak during voir dire, when the lawyers ask the jury panel questions, you have a good chance to be knocked off. One side won’t like you. If you are silent, they don’t know and you will be overlooked when the lawyers go about the process of selecting jurors. Actually, what they do is reject jurors. Whoever the first 12 leftovers are after everyone possible is knocked off gets on a jury. So if you want off jury duty instead of on, simply say something like, I would award this person one billion dollars no matter what. Or, I think all Plaintiff lawyers are agents of sin. Or, I have an uncontrollable flatulence problem.
Here’s another secret about a large majority of lawsuits. As a juror or a newspaper reader, you will hear that Road Runner got a huge verdict against Acme Corp and their product tester W. E. Coyote. In reality, Acme and W.E. were only involved in a fraction of the case. The case is really against Acme’s insurance company who’s raison d’etre is to collect Acme’s premiums and keep them forever. They are as likely to reject a claim from Acme in the event of a factory explosion as they are to pay Road Runner’s medical bills if W.E. takes him out falling off a cliff with a defective rocket pack. The insurance company hires the lawyer, dictates the settlement posture and oversees the whole process.
But lest I give the impression the insurance man only tortures his insured and the injured bird, I must reveal that he also torments the very lawyer he chooses. Yes the defense lawyer is handsomely compensated, but often must wait 6 months to a year–I’m aware of some firms who have been 18 months behind being paid on occasion. And when they are paid, they find hours and hours of time simply red-lined from the bill and ignored. Here comes another secret–no defense firm is giving up a nickel of its work. They simply change the wording in their bills and pile on additional, often unnecessary work to the file, thus extending the misery for Judge, opposing lawyer, all parties and the courthouse staff.
Everyone in Mississippi knows that juries in certain counties have a reputation as plaintiff friendly venues. I’d say there are about 10 to 12 counties that rightly have that reputation. But the big secret is, of Mississippi’s 70-72 other counties, extremely defense friendly juries exist in probably 60. We have maybe, maybe 10 counties in the state without a strong bias one way or the other.
And possibly the biggest secret of all–fangs–I meant to say, the vast majority of lawyers are really decent, often interesting and caring folks. They want nothing more than a fair judge, jury and appellate court to be in place so they can practice the way they thought they would be able to back in law school. And sadly, for lawyers of my generation (15 years or less experience), we’ve never known such a system.
Categories: Law · Mississippi
Tagged: Alex Alston, FOX, insurance companies, Judges, Jury, Justice, Law, Mississippi, Mississippi Supreme Court, secrets, sex, supercynics sex tag idea, venues
Quote of the Day: ”Be not disturbed at trifles, or accidents common or unavoidable.” — Benjamin Franklin
It’s Friday afternoon, and I feel great. But this was a week in which I found myself disproportionately angry about several things. In the spirit of fellowship, to cleanse my own spirit prior to the weekend, and because I’ll not be on the spirits to expound on these things tonight, I share these gripes with the world.
- 9/10′s of a penny tacked on to every freakin gallon of gas. Is this really necessary? How much of Exxon’s profit is the result of that fraction, hidden right there in plain sight, and subconsciously accepted by humankind as normal.
- Dollar coins. I think they are kind of cool. I’ve never seen one in circulation. Is the idea to really use them or is it a cheap government trick trotted out every few years to ensnare me the random idiot collector. If we are going to have a dollar coin, let’s at least curtail the production of paper bills, enough so that people will have no choice but to use the coin once in a while. Then at least my a collector’s shiny coin will have some aesthetic advantage over some dollar coins. Where have you gone Sacagewa and Susan B. Anthony?
- Insurance companies. And their agents. And their lawyers. And secretaries. And stockholders. Screw you all.
- Anti-global warming fanatics. I really don’t think a reasonable person can lay high gas prices, casualties in Iran, steroids in baseball and the Lakers’ collapse all at Al Gore’s feet. But I’ll be damned if I don’t get at least one email a week blaming almost anything you can think of on Al Gore and his cause. We all know that global warming IS the cause of all these things, right? That’s the irony. It is delicious.
- Aging. Sometimes its hard for me to remember it beats the heck out of the alternative. But it still sucks.
- My dead grass and bloomless crepe myrtles. Especially bad considering the neighbors yard–dq’d from being yard of the month for winning too many times.
- Choosing poorly which lane is going fastest.
- LSU fans. Not because they are supposed to be obnoxious. Because they have good teams. What stroke of luck allowed them to be born in a state that decided only one college needed to play good football back in 1897. Sorry Tulane. Same goes for Tennessee, and Arkansas. And Nebraska. And Ohio State for Pete’s sake. Ya’ll all piss me off.
- Runners. Admit it….what really turns you on is showing up the rest of us. Come on Adam, admit it.
- Bad attitudes. Piss. Me. Off.
Categories: Humor · Life
Tagged: gas prices, Humor, insurance companies, Lists, LSU, traffic, wisdom, wit, yards
