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State should deregulate
home insurance market
Re: “State Farm seeks 22% homeowner rate hikes” (Page A1, Feb. 4).
The Mercury News article provides a great reason for the government not to be in the insurance market. State Farm is forced to raise rates for everyone because California’s Fair (insurance) Plan only has $385 million to satisfy claims of $24 billion, and the plan requires private carriers to provide supplements.
A commonsense solution would be to end California’s attempts to regulate the insurance market and encourage insurance providers to come to California thereby increasing supply and reducing costs.
It’s unlikely that California will accept the obvious solution. The result will be more insurance cancellations and exorbitant rates. If homeowners aren’t able to purchase homeowners insurance, lenders will be less likely to finance mortgages and home values will decline.
Thomas Baker
San Jose
Silence is unacceptable
after Trump’s orders
Re: “First military flight departs to send migrants to Cuba” (Page A4, Feb. 5).
German Pastor Martin Niemoller’s poignant, and oft-quoted, post-World War II words, “Then they came,” have become frighteningly relevant in just the first days of President Trump’s second term.
Instead of socialists, trade unionists, Jews, and Pastor Niemoller himself, we only need to substitute the undocumented, migrants, distinguished transgendered service personnel, transgendered athletes, inspector generals, federal employees and dedicated FBI agents. The list will grow.
Pastor Niemoller laments that when the Nazis came for the groups mentioned above he didn’t speak up because he didn’t belong to those groups, and when they came for him, no one was left to speak up. So, in the face of a presidency founded on revenge, retribution, racism, homophobia, transphobia and profound ignorance, we must speak up.
Barry Goldman-Hall
San Jose
Following Musk is
a mistake for techies
Re: “Musk calling on young techies to help with DOGE” (Page A1, Feb. 5).
I have no doubt that the young techies helping Musk are super intelligent, but did they study U.S. history or government at school? Do they understand the importance of the Constitution?
One cannot be hopeful if the future generation is so willing to aid and abet someone who has displayed a willingness to commit illegal acts to tear down the government.
Florence Chan
Los Altos
Musk is trying to fix
a broken government
Re: “Unelected Musk is breaking government” (Page A6, Jan. 5).
Letter writer Terrele Schumake bemoans the fact that Elon Musk is “breaking government.” Exactly backwards.
Big parts of the federal (and California) governments are already broken. Musk is trying to fix them. A cursory glance at the list of USAID grant recipients will reveal this almost immediately.
Tony Lima
Los Altos
Trump, Musk have a
right to audit programs
Why do Democrats fear having our $6.7 trillion in federal spending last year reviewed by Elon Musk at President Trump’s request?
Every public corporation is required to have an independent audit, but the government essentially audits itself. While the GAO (Government Accountability Office) and the CIG (Office of Inspector General) audit our spending, nothing in the Constitution prevents the president from reviewing government spending and reporting any irregularities.
Ed Kahl
Woodside
Congress must speak
up to counter Trump
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I’m deeply disturbed by some of the outrageous executive actions and proposals of the new Trump administration: the confusion and fear that has been caused by the disruption of services affecting USAID; orders affecting refugees, immigrants and the LGBTQ community; the assault on our justice system by the pardoning of people convicted of violent actions against law enforcement; and suggestions of removing all Palestinians from Gaza to build “a new Riviera.”
The list goes on, but where is the outrage and outcry from our elected leaders? Please, let us hear you be bold and courageous. You can add power to our voices; the voices of those who are poor and on the margins. Our democracy depends on it.
Gary Bertuccelli
Santa Clara
