I've always wanted to break up with a girl on Valentine's Day. Some might see this as cruel--I see numerous comedic opportunities. She's expecting the most romantic night of her life; you plan on telling her she's undateable--it's the old bait and switch.

For those who really wanna go all out, you can do it in style. Skywriting. A billboard. Take her to a sporting event and buy time on the scoreboard ("I find you to be emotionally repulsive--Happy Valentine's Day!"). Shower with gifts that scream singlehood (box of condoms; maybe a gift certificate to match.com). You could take her to an expensive dinner and as soon as the food comes, tell her you'd rather be doing someone else. You know, do it real classy.
I despise insurance--the whole thing is a scam. Everyone knows extended warranties offered by retail stores are a rip-off, but I'm not sure how many folks realize car insurance is just as bad. Think about this: the insurance company is there to make money. If it wasn't, it wouldn't be in business. The only way it does so is if it takes in more money than it hands out. Meaning, you--the paying customer--will pay more in car insurance than you'll recover in claims. It's the only way the business works.

Because of that, I hate paying for insurance. It's just stupid. I've been driving for ten years and paying car insurance the whole time. I couldn't tell you how much I've paid throughout the years. But I can tell you exactly how much of gotten out of car insurance. With the aid of my trusty calculator, I can add up every dollar's worth of repairs, claims, and medical assistance I've received from car insurance.

Zero.

That's right; I haven't received a stinking penny from all my years of driving. Why? Probably 'cause I don't go around hitting things. It's really not that hard to be a good driver. Pay attention. Don't drive too fast. Don't drive too aggressive. Be smart. That's pretty much all they need to teach kids today in driver's ed.

It pains me to pay the $400 a year I pay now for insurance. That's money I'll never see again. They only reason I do it is because it's the law in California. What I should do is just print up some bogus car insurance card from my computer and put that money in the bank. Actually, that's what everyone should do. Find out how much you're supposed to pay a month in car insurance and put that much in the bank. Do every month of every year until the day you die. You'll come out ahead based on the interest alone. By making those payments to yourself instead of the insurance companies, you'll have the money available to cover damages if/when you do get into an accident. And if you never do, you'll at least have enough to pay for your funeral.

That's all the insurance companies do. They take your money and sit on it (or buy themselves stuff). When you get into an accident, they give you your money back...and then the start collecting your money again. At a higher rate. And it's the good drivers like me who end up suffering. We never see a return on our investment. All we do is pay and pay and never get anything in return (kinda like marriage).

Some folks--like my brother--desperately need insurance. See, he destroys a car about once a year. Sometimes it's his fault; sometimes it's not. But I assure you, if I was driving none of those accidents would've ever occurred. He can't follow my bank plan because he never builds up a nest egg. I'm surprised he's still able to find insurance given his propensity to hit things--his insurance rates must be through the roof.

However you wanna look it at, I'm subsidizing his insurance. Since the day I bought my car until today, there isn't a doubt in my mind I've paid more in auto insurance than the car is worth--probably double). That just doesn't seem fair. I'm paying for a service I never receive. It's not the Democrats or the Republicans who run our country: it's the damn lobbyist. The only reason car insurance is required is because lobbyist (employed by the insurance companies) pester our politicians to make insurance a legal requirement. In California, you can go to jail for driving without insurance. How sick is that? Johnny No-Insurance could spend more time behind bars than Michael Jackson. The world is a screwed up place--priorities are all out of whack. Just so the giant corporations can keep making money off us.

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