Russ Steele
We live in a community that relies on tourists to visit the area on weekends and thousands commute to the valley to work on weekdays. Now our good Republican Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is calling for "pay-as-you-drive" insurance. Insurance that will base premiums on actually mileage driven, an in incentive to get people to drive fewer miles. He thinks "pay-as-you-drive" will help reduce greenhouse gases and accidents. Poizner wants you to take transit, bike, or walk to work.
The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that if California reduces their mileage by 30 percent the state could avoid 55 million tons of CO2 between 2009 and 2020, which is the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the road.
My question is how may tourist would it encourage to stay home to reduce their insurance bill. How much would this increase commuting cost for the 8-10 thousand commuter that drive to the valley every weekday to work? Will this encourage more working people to move to the valley, putting more homes on the market, encourage more retried folks to come to Nevada County? Will Nevada County become a retirement refuge, as was suggested at a recent County Economic Summit, void of young people and service staff. With our high housing costs many service workers commute in from other areas with affordable housing. Under this program it will pay them to find a job closer to where they live, and that will not be in the County.
OK, maybe this one initiative might not have that much impact, but what happens when you combine it with the other greenhouse gas initiatives soon to be put on the books in Sacramento to reduce driving? Have you read the AB32 Scoping Plan? Have you ask yourself if these measures are implemented, how will it change your life. Your neighbors life? Your business, the communities economy? Folks, get your head out of the sand.
The Legislators in Sacramento have no clue about the impact they are having on rural communities. Most come from crowded cites, with transit systems and they drive state cars, get cheap gas and do not pay the insurance bill. They are clueless twits and you are sitting on your hands hoping this will all go away. It will not go away until you take action to remove these clueless twits from office. Get started!
Oh by the way, Republican Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, has his eye on the Governor's job. He is going try and out green his opponent Attorney General Brown, who is also eyeing a run for the job using his green credentials. As a result more green crap is on it's way to your neighborhood. Get started, it is time to clean house in Sacramento.
