For the past week people have been searching for Gov. Mark Sanford who went missing the day before Father's day. His wife said she did not know where he was; but that she was not concerned. While that might seem to me to be a strange response coming from his wife and mother to his four children; she stated that he told her that "He was writing something and wanted some space to get away from the kids". Maybe I'm just one of those "Family Value" guys; but I have a problen with a man that needs to "Get away" from his kinds on father's day.
In the mean time, the people of South Carolina were left without any way of reaching their Governor, and no idea of where he had gone. His staff put forth the explanation that he was " hiking the Appalachian Trail all alone". Here again it struck me as odd that upon hearing this his wife didn't mention that her husband did not take any of his camping gear.
By this morning, the story had changed to he had thought about hiking the Appalachian Trail but at the last minute changed his mind and went to Buenos Aires. When asked why, he stated "I wanted to do something exotic."
Well, it turns out "something exotic." is code for an extramarital affair.
"The bottom line is this: I've been unfaithful to my wife," he said. "I've developed a relationship with a dear dear friend from Argentina."Sanford used a nationally televised new conference to apologize to his wife, his four boys, as well as the people of South Carolina. He also said he regretted leaving his family and staff to spin tales to cover for his absence. Presidential aspirations aside; Stanford has left a trail of lies, and moral lapses that will make it difficult just to hold his position as governor.
Durring a news conference earlier today, fellow Republican South Carolina state Sen. John Knotts said "All we've had is lies, lies, lies," .There have been "cover ups where the governor is and where the governor is not," "I don't have a problem with the governor taking some time off," Knotts said. "But the people in South Carolina need to know that somebody is at the helm, not just a staffer."
This leaves Stanford with people questioning both his competence as well as his morals. I'm pretty sure his political career could survive either of these two complaints; It seems difficult to picture his ability to simultaneously fend off both charges.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Will GM bankruptcy increase car Insurance costs
Not at Urban Insurance.
We have consulted with many of the Insurance companies where we write auto Insurance, and we are happy to report, that as of today, none of them have issued any plans to increase the cost of insurance on any of the GM cars. Two of the companies did state that they were aware of several large insurance companies that we “Considering” a rate increase on GM cars, but to the best of their knowledge, none had done so yet.
In trying to assess the likelihood of insurance companies raising rates on GM cars, there are two examples to look at for clues, The end of Oldsmobile and the demise of Yugo. While each nameplate has vanished, the effects were very different. This was true for resale value as well as insurance costs.
The Yugo was brought into America in 1985 as a cheep, fuel efficient car. 141,511 Yugos were sold in the US from 1985 to 1991. 1991 saw not just the end of the Yugo imported into the US. But thend of the country of Yugoslavia . After years of conflict on June 25, 1991, Croatia and Slovenia declared independence effectively dismantling the country. In very quick order auto insurance company's either placed large surcharges Yugos, or refused to insure them. The problem was parts. The shortage of parts caused the resale value of the cars to plummet with such a low value owners found them selves “Upside-down on payments, every accident had disproportionately high parts cost resulting in even small accident being declared a total loss.
Oldsmobile by contrast had a 107-year history during which it produced 35.2 million cars. The same year the Yugo was introduced into the US. Oldsmobile hit an all-time high of 1,066,122 car sold that year. Oldsmobile owners also had the ability to get their cars fixed at any other GM dealership in part because so many of the parts, and even paint colors were shared with other GM cars. Stating The complexity of the GM bankruptcy, the “American Insurance Association” says it is hard to predict insurance rates for GM products. They have stated that a shortage of replacement parts could push up insurance prices since parts are one of the largest costs of their repair costs. “Consumers may be better off if their insurer allows the use of non-manufacturer parts for repair work after a crash. A number already do, although sometimes just for older vehicles”.
In trying to assess the likelihood of insurance companies raising rates on GM cars, there are two examples to look at for clues, The end of Oldsmobile and the demise of Yugo. While each nameplate has vanished, the effects were very different. This was true for resale value as well as insurance costs.
The Yugo was brought into America in 1985 as a cheep, fuel efficient car. 141,511 Yugos were sold in the US from 1985 to 1991. 1991 saw not just the end of the Yugo imported into the US. But thend of the country of Yugoslavia . After years of conflict on June 25, 1991, Croatia and Slovenia declared independence effectively dismantling the country. In very quick order auto insurance company's either placed large surcharges Yugos, or refused to insure them. The problem was parts. The shortage of parts caused the resale value of the cars to plummet with such a low value owners found them selves “Upside-down on payments, every accident had disproportionately high parts cost resulting in even small accident being declared a total loss.
Oldsmobile by contrast had a 107-year history during which it produced 35.2 million cars. The same year the Yugo was introduced into the US. Oldsmobile hit an all-time high of 1,066,122 car sold that year. Oldsmobile owners also had the ability to get their cars fixed at any other GM dealership in part because so many of the parts, and even paint colors were shared with other GM cars. Stating The complexity of the GM bankruptcy, the “American Insurance Association” says it is hard to predict insurance rates for GM products. They have stated that a shortage of replacement parts could push up insurance prices since parts are one of the largest costs of their repair costs. “Consumers may be better off if their insurer allows the use of non-manufacturer parts for repair work after a crash. A number already do, although sometimes just for older vehicles”.
Urban Insurance will keep you informed on any upcoming changes in the industry, and fight to provide you with the lowest cost on your car insurance.
800-680-0707
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Monday, June 1, 2009
GM and America's Future
It was a little more than 10 years ago when walking down the street from my home in Chicago, that I saw a woman was opening a small "Wash your Own Dog" business. While I wished her well, I was concerned that the business would not last 3 months. I never could have guessed that her micro business would out last General Motors.
For many decades GM stood for all that was right with the American economy. http://urbaninsuranceagency.com/insurance-articles/241/too-big-to-fail%3f.html It was a shining symbol of the power of America and our dominance in the world. The problem with being a symbol; is when times change; you quickly find yourself represented as all that is wrong, and how far we have slid.
We can not compete by having the lowest priced work force. America will not benefit from a "Race to the Bottom";but gone are the days when we can kid ourselves in to thinking that we in some way above the global economy, or that we can survive just selling to each other, the goods other countries have produced.We need to actuality make something. We also need to understand the world markets, and produce cars that global market wants to buy.
I do believe GM will come out of bankruptcy and has a real chance of returning to profitability (albeit, a smaller company)
For many decades GM stood for all that was right with the American economy. http://urbaninsuranceagency.com/insurance-articles/241/too-big-to-fail%3f.html It was a shining symbol of the power of America and our dominance in the world. The problem with being a symbol; is when times change; you quickly find yourself represented as all that is wrong, and how far we have slid.
We can not compete by having the lowest priced work force. America will not benefit from a "Race to the Bottom";but gone are the days when we can kid ourselves in to thinking that we in some way above the global economy, or that we can survive just selling to each other, the goods other countries have produced.We need to actuality make something. We also need to understand the world markets, and produce cars that global market wants to buy.
I do believe GM will come out of bankruptcy and has a real chance of returning to profitability (albeit, a smaller company)
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