DID REPUBLICANS PUT THEIR EGGS IN THE WRONG BASKET?

From the time we are born, we begin developing a sense for who is friend and who is foe.

Reagan embraced Osama bin Laden; Saddam Hussain was considered "friend" not too long ago.

Republicans, you know, are the ones who don't want to punish business for any wrong doing, have befriended big business who rewards their political favors by exporting jobs and manufacturing plants overseas.

Home sales have been the only bright spot in this abysmal economy. Yet, Republicans want to bite the hand that feeds the economy by reducing protections to homeowners.

Homeowners are shareholders of America; we've put our money where our collectives mouths are and invested our hard earned cash in our American communities. And, we, not some random offshore insurance company, oil company or pharmaceutical company , deserve equal, if not greater, protections than those offered to big business. Instead, Enron investors are afforded more protections than the American homeowner, and that's not saying much.

As a general rule, Republicans believe that to boost the economy, big business must be supported and the fruits of business will somehow, miraculously, trickle down to the masses. That's not happened. Republicans also favor less government intervention yet want to impose government regulated caps on bad behavior. This is nothing short of price fixing and further erosion of a free market system - something that Republicans by nature, allege they detest.

A shining example is the regulatory and judicial protections offered insurance companies when they violate insurance statutes and act in bad faith. If your insurer refuses to honor the policy, the average homeowner looks to the state department of insurance for resolution. Through them, resolution, rarely if ever, happens. If the homeowner is forced to seek resolution through the legal system, and the insurer actually admits to lying, thieving and weaseling, many "soft" judges are unwilling to penalize the insurer. Many states do not even allow for bad faith. These states just wing-it, hoping insurers will play nicely.

Likewise, if your custom homebuilder builds a house of card and refuses to correct his construction defects, many states have passed legislation that slams the courthouse doors on victims, making it impossible to hold the shoddy builder (who has taken YOUR money) accountable.

While many people would like to see judicial reform, the Republican version of tort reform should be rejected out of hand.

First, any elected official who favors tort reform should resign from office. The jury system is a mini-election. Twelve citizens (men and women, neighbors, local merchants, employees, employers, homemakers, etc…) basically "vote" for or against the defendant and/or plaintiff. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. But, the system works just as elections work.

Second, the current Republican leadership is hypocritical at best. They believe jurors are smart enough to sentence a man to death, but not smart enough to penalize corporate malfeasance. So, which is it? Can jurors weed through evidence in a murder trial but not in a civil trial? If we are going to be tough on crime, let's be tough on ALL types of bad behavior. Let's not let the corporation who ripped off a customer, setting into motion a domino effect that resulted in a foreclosure, off the hook, while we sentence a kid who robbed a 7-11 store to years in jail. It's time EVERYONE (corporation or individual) take responsibility for their life choices and actions.

It's somewhat interesting sitting with a bird's eye view of more than a million members who sought assistance from their legislators and regulators and got nothing in return. Most of POA's membership consists of relatively affluent families from across the nation. Our members typically vote Republican.

However, the 2004 election poses a serious quagmire to members who have been betrayed by the very Republicans they voted for in prior elections. We thought of ourselves as part of the establishment only to find out that our legislators, judges and regulators have bent over for the wrong special interest group and not picked their friends wisely.

The winds of change are coming. POA will be keeping members apprised of candidate positions, legislative battles, judicial rulings and other things impacting homeowners and policyholders, as we approach November, 2004.

written by: Melinda Ballard
7/21/03

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