Larry,
Thanks for the thoughts. To shed a tiny bit of light on why CA is so
bloody-minded it might help to realize that cars are BIG here. BIG
money, BIG Taxes and Fees, and BIG necessities. Not a great combo, but
not a lot of options either. Smog is a real big problem in both the LA
Basin and the SF Bay Area, so we either get cars or air...or pay for
expensive repairs to get our cars "Smogged." I think (?) the current
limit is around $400/year of extra repairs needed to make pass Smog Test
before a Waiver can be applied for, but only one per car and then it's
either junk or you pay up to no limit.
CAlifornians have basically done this to themselves, I am told....We
passed a Proposition to mandate car insurance because we have SO MANY
uninsured motorists. Well, our area is one in which there are a lot of
really nice cars, and a lot of real junkers. Guess which ones are
insured? Guess which ones are most often stolen? Guess which ones have
more experienced drivers at their wheels? Guess which ones are most
often replaced or repaired by insurance fees paid by all the others?
None that I've owned. (BTW, to keep the Brick with us, we removed her
battery, a few crucial wires, and put her onto concealed blocks, but
still had problems with Police when it was vandalized and they concluded
that we had just pissed the thief off by making it tougher to steal, ha
ha! They advised us to make it safer to get into and /or steal in case
the next thief hurt himself and decided to sue us because he would
probably win a judgement for damages!)
So, I guess the gist of what I am saying is that you are absolutely
correct in saying that we have it tough here with cars. I can't help
thinking I have been operating on the wrong side of the law throughout
all these incidents. I know Welfare Rats who get more breaks, have
higher standards of living, and laugh at even trying to be "Legal."
Supposedly, "That's dumb! You'll only get caught if you worry about
it." Well, I am worrying...guess I should sue my parents, huh?
Kathy B.
"The more I know, the more I know I need to know more."
(By: A Smart Person.)
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