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This is the fourth part of a series of posts analyzing California’s propositions:
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Vote Yes on Proposition 30 – Jerry Brown’s Budget Plan
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Vote No on Proposition 31 – Changes to State Budgeting
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Vote No on Proposition 32 – Union-busting
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VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 33 – CAR INSURANCE
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Vote Yes on Proposition 34– Death Penalty
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Vote No on Proposition 35 – Human Trafficking
Proposition 33: A Fine Example of What’s Wrong With The Proposition System
California’s proposition system is generally broken. There are good propositions out there, such as Proposition 25 (which made it so that budgets no longer need super-majorities to pass).
Then there are things like Proposition 33.
Proposition 33 is the worst type of proposition out there.
It’s the type of proposition in which a big corporation asks voters to change the law so that the corporation can increase profits. In this case the corporation is Mercury Insurance, founded by billionaire George Joseph:
What is even more crazy about this proposition is that Mercury Insurance placed the exact same thing on the ballot just two years ago. It failed. Now Mercury is trying again.
What Does Proposition 33 Do?
Proposition 33 allows car insurance companies to give discounts to individuals with five continuous years of car insurance.
Conversely, this means that individuals without five continuous years of car insurance will have their car insurance become more expensive. Insurance companies, after all, don’t just hand out discounts because they’re nice. If Proposition 33 passes car insurance companies will give the discount to those who qualify and then raise their prices for everybody else. For those without five continuous years of car insurance, you’ll be paying more if this proposition passes.
Who are people without five continuous years of car insurance?
Well, they’re generally the young and the poor.
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Say you’re a working-class immigrant who’s just saved enough money to buy a car for the first time in your life. If Proposition 33 passes, your car insurance will become more expensive. Or say you’re a young person (like me) who just got your license for the first time. If Proposition 33 passes, your car insurance will also become more expensive. Or say you’re a proud mother of a blooming high school student. If Proposition 33 passes, you’ll be paying more for your son’s car insurance once he gets his license.
Yup, This Affects Me Too!
This proposition directly affects me and every single young and poor Californian out there. It also affects every single mother or father of a high school or college student. If Proposition 33 passes, car insurance will be more expensive for every Californian driving a car for the first time in his or her life.
(Under Proposition 33 these smiling Californians will be paying a whole lot more in car insurance.)
This is why voting is so important. The young, the poor, and parents can’t let companies like Mercury Insurance sneak Proposition 33 past us.
Every single young person in California, and every single one of their parents, should vote against Proposition 33.
–inoljt
8 Comments
Not a Californian meownself, but enjoy how effortlessly you parse the ballot proposition. A short course in symbolic logic would help lots of folks wade through this and many of the other sorts of lies habitually told to us.
Yes, the proposition system is ridiculous. So many propositions are things like this in which special interests like Mercury are trying to trick Californians.
Once I figured out the “Vote no on the “Yes, help save the baby” proposition,” I became jaded. Whenever a proposition sounds like it might be helpful, I make sure I read up on it. And the Prop 33 situation is one of those times.
And then it still can be so tricky. Having to remember to vote “yes” in order to get a ban, or to vote “no” to get an approval is migraine time for anyone who has dyslexia. I now leave for the polling place with my cheat sheet firmly in hand.
If you have absentee ballot make sure you place an extra stamp on it. The weight is over 1oz because of all the propositions. Yes they want it to be as confusing as posssible and it’s all caused by lazy lawmakers who won’t take stand on anything.
I may not be a Californian, but I HAVE driven without car insurance for years at a time because I faced a choice between paying for car insurance or paying for rent and/or food.
This proposition is a Bad Idea.
Why did you omit Proposition 37?
Yes, it’s crazy complicated. The proposition system badly needs reform (i.e. it needs to get a lot harder to put a proposition on the ballot).
Because I haven’t written it yet. ;) It’s coming.