The Village People, Europe's Economic Decline, and California's Insurance Nightmare

A round up a few important stories on my radar.

A Wrecked Insurance Market

As the California wildfires continue to burn, one thing has become clear: California lawmakers destroyed an insurance market that offered coverage to homeowners.

All of those headlines you see about California homeowners being “dropped” by their insurer are bogus. The reality is, as I recently wrote, California destroyed its insurance marketplace with price controls, and the state-created system that has grown rapidly in recent years as an insurer of last resort does not appear to have the capital to meet the costs of the homes it was insuring. (The numbers are bleak: $385 million in cash on hand, while facing an estimated $24 billion in obligations.)

Some people saw this coming, believe it or not.

“The numbers are frightening. You should be scared. Everyone should be scared,” Mark Sektnan, vice president of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, told the Sacramento Business Journal in July.

(Read my whole story at the Washington Examiner)

Of Growth and Stagnation

On the economics front, Dave Hebert has a wonderful story highlighting why the EU economy has stopped growing, while the US economy continues to grow. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, see this:

What could explain such a striking difference?

Dave takes a look through the lens of a simple formula for prosperity that Adam Smith offered 250 years ago.

(Read it here)

The Village People Are Back

Finally, news broke yesterday that the Village People will be performing at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

When I first saw the news, I made a quip that this is what progress looks like. It was a joke, but at the same time I think it is progress … in a sense.

It feels to me like we’re emerging from a kind of intellectual fascism, a period that saw any sort of support for Orange Man as treason, sedition, or an affront to human decency. I have my problems with the president-elect and have been vocal about it at times (I’ve also praised him when I felt it was appropriate), but I’ve always had problems with demonizing the political opposition.

This is not about whether I like the Village People’s music (I don’t). Or whether the Village People like Trump’s politics. It’s about rejecting the politics that turns intolerance into a virtue.

Victor Willis, a founding member of the group, emphasized that the Village People’s decision was rooted in a desire to unify rather than divide.

"I decided to allow the president-elect's continued use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ because he seems to genuinely, genuinely like the song, and so many other artists were stopping him from using their music," he told Fox News.

I like this approach.

The truth is, I’d prefer to live in a country where artists are not ostracized or shunned for supporting a political candidate they like or performing hit songs at political events. Artists should also not be shunned or ostracized if they decline; that’s their right too.