A letter from Rhino Times reader Miller Foster
Speaking of the cost of living, on top of the DSP Tax Extortion Agency, there are many other things where prices are moving into the unaffordable category.
One of the rackets is insurance for cars and homes. The main reason these keep going up is what the trade describes as “claims experience”. Sure, it is probable that many people game the system; but now the cost of maintaining our real estate and taxes on same, and the subsequent cost of repairing damaged houses and cars, are ballistic. Have a CV? Any collision that damages the battery requires battery replacement, or totaling the car. Your hot water heater bursts and floods the floor and the basement? Mucho dinero. Someone falls on your icy driveway? Better have LOTS of insurance for that.
So, all my insurance is due this month. I have good insurance, but they are pushing the envelope again for premiums. I checked Yo Olde consumer rating magazine to find their #1 rated is USAA (only for Vets). So I givum a call. Over 3 days, I spend 2 hours & 30″ talking to four people. Can’t get me signed in to their Machiavellian websites; conflicting information, three different quotes on my auto insurance (they only got it right when I gave them the quote from one phone call; and gave them the name and time; like they had it all the time but tried to get a higher price), and never got a quote on one item. Where I am now, it is one phone call to one person, and email or verbal information PFQ. So they think I am a machine. I told them (politely) what I think.
This is my opinion, based on my personal experience.
Miller Forester
As cost of cars goes up, the cost of repairs goes up, so goes the cost of the insurance to cover the repairs. Same with your home. Both Biden and Trump are falling into the same trap (I was guilty of this as well) that because macro economic numbers aren’t spelling doom that everything is ok. This is of course dead wrong. I advise you don’t believe the guy who told you he lowered drug prices by 1500%. He isn’t just out of touch, he is lying to you in hopes you are ignorant enough to believe him.
Best wishes.
Chris your TDS is so telling. This person’s letter had absolutely nothing to do with Trump. You are a sick little person
Yes Rebel, he’s a bitter, angry man with a nasty case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Awwww……the school yard bullies are grumpy that Trump is brought up in regard to how everything is getting more expensive under his leadership, including insurance? Poor boo boos
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After the Biden Administration, I wouldn’t bring up inflation if I were you, Chrissy.
happy to discuss how global inflation worked out as a result of covid in addition to inflated spending by both Biden and Trump. Let me know.
Also happy to talk about how Biden’s administration lowered inflation rates to level basically were they are today. Again, let me know. Happy to help you out.
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And I’ll be happy to correct you.
Is your thinking is Trump’s stimulus had no impact on inflation, but Biden’s did? Is your thinking that the massive disruption to global supply chains had no impact on prices? Did you not understand that under Biden’s leadership, inflation was brought back under control without tanking the economy into recession? Did you not realize that inflation spiked globally and was not just limited to US and therefore likely caused by a number of factors, many outside direct control of the US?
Which of those statements do you want to correct?
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Is your thinking that exploding the US money supply and Federal Govt. deficit spending will NOT result in inflation???
It certainly did….both Trump and Biden bloated response to Covid was absurd. The only financial aid should have gone to those that were job displaced versus dumping money on those that weren’t financially impacted by Covid.
You ARE aware that Trump had the single largest annual deficit versus Biden term? Trump’s deficit spending was 4.6% of GDP and Biden’s was 5.4%. Both had a major spending problem. Why do conservatives only see spending as a problem of democrats when Republicans have long outspent Democrats since Reagan?
Did you NOT see how I mentioned Trump and Biden’s stimulus? Weird.
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What a contradictory and nonsensical comment.
Your lack of self-awareness is cute.
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Insurance is just legalized gambling. Every year I bet $1000 that my house will burn down in the next 12 months. Every year, I lose (thank God).
When my wife became pregnant with our first child, I wagered that I’d die in the next 20 years. I lost that bet too (thank God).
“Insurance professionals” might not care to be compared to bookies – but that’s what they are.
But boy you are happy you bet the 1000 if you house does burn down and you receive several 100 thousand dollars to rebuild. And boy are you really really unhappy if you didn’t make the bet and your house burned down.
Weird you think your housing not burning down is losing. You are a rather negative person so I get it.
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What… ???
You’re a mental case who just wants to argue about everything.
I can type slower if you need help understanding how insurance works and how people hate it until they need. Maybe if i use crayons. Would that help?
– Hey, you already insulted my intelligence just last week, buddy.
How’d that work out for you?
Oh yeah, it turned out that YOU were the stupid one in math, right?
– And now you’re at it again, spewing your childish insults.
You’re pathetic.
Rude, ignorant, arrogant, spiteful, stupid, and nasty. And childish, very childish.
I give as I receive.
Cheers.
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Ha, ha, ha, ha…… !
Moron.
You start throwing [deleted] and then claim childish innocence when you get it back – and get humiliated. You’re a sorry little nobody.
Did you really try the school yard argument of ‘you started it’? Too funny.
Happy New Year
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But you did start the mud slinging, didn’t you?
As you always do.
Nope. Just posted a comment that questioned your rationale about insurance being legalized gambling. You tossed in the childish name calling as usual. If receiving criticism is mudslinging, maybe you should stay off public comments sections of news sites.
Best wishes.
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Never mind insurance being a racket, how about Piedmont Natural Gas? My bill for December was $246. A year earlier, my bill for December 2024 was $172. The year before that, my bill for December 2023 was $157. And the year before that, my bill for December 2022 was $139.
So in only three years (Dec/22 to Dec/25) my gas heat bill has been increased BY SEVENTY-SEVEN PER CENT, jumping up every year.
What the Hell is behind this?
At least you can cancel your insurance. You can’t cancel PNG, unless you want to freeze and do without hot water.
Austin you do know that PNG is now owned by Duke Energy. That explains a lot. Nothing like a monopoly
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Yeah, Duke knows they have us over a barrel. They nail us with a/c in the Summer, and gas heat in the Winter.
They get us coming and going.
My A/C bill last Summer was so outrageous I agreed to let them do an “energy audit” on my house. After the guy had been here ten minutes it became clear to me that the purpose of these audits was to blame ME for the extortionate bills. “Oh, you need better insulation! And windows! And do you really need your thermostat so low?” It was just a CYA exercise by Duke Energy whereby they try to present themselves as blameless – and blame the customer for their extortionate charges.
You’re right Rebel. This is a monopolistic shake down of the people of North Carolina.
Austin go back in history and see what “our government” did to
J.D. Rockefeller and ma Bell when they were accused of being a monopoly. There were members in congress in both cases that were jealous of those companies success
Maybe it will happen again
Prices are up due to US exporting more natural gas than ever with the new export terminals that were recently built. By exporting more gas, the US domestic market is now more closely linked to higher international prices….less gas for domestic markets means higher prices for US customers.
Those were built under Biden weren’t they chris
They were approved under Trump’s first term.
Es verdad.
Did you read the little insert in your gas bill last year? Homeowners getting soaked 13%+.
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No, I missed that Miller. They probably stuffed that notice in with the other bumf they include with the bills, hoping we wouldn’t notice – and I didn’t.
At 13% annually, our bills will DOUBLE every five and a half years.
This is a rip-off.
72 is handy….
One option us to buy Duke stock (DUK), or the preferred version (DUKB).
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OFFS…. it’s getting worse. I opened my Duke Energy bill this afternoon, reckoning it would be less that the gas bill, as it normally is in the winter (we have gas heat, but a heat pump for upstairs).
$289. $289. So my combined cost for heat and light and hot water in December was
$535.
Five Hundred and Thirty-Five Dollars. Is it just me, or is that just way too high for a 2550 square feet house, new in 2004?
So Chris why didn’t Biden stop those terminals in his 4 years. Oh sorry my bad. Someone else had the auto- pen.
Unlike Trump, Biden must not have believed the government should back out on deals already approved with private businesses and cost those private businesses 100s of millions in losses because he ‘personally’ doesn’t like something. You know, like an authoritarian.
Here’s another one for you. When Avian flu hit early last year, the wholesale price of eggs were over $9/dz, (nationally) by March. Not as bad here.
Now that the flocks have been restored, and the Holiday cooking is done; today, the wholesale price of eggs is $.33/dz. That’s right, less than 3c each. How much of that do you see in the stores?
Another huge decline is the price of potatoes. See much of that either? Big Wally wraps up a russet potato in shrink wrap for your microwave, priced each around $1, amounts to well over $2/lb. Is that predatory or what? Who is dumb enough to buy one of these?
For a long time now, WallyWorld is not THE place to shop. When you go there, it’s like going hunting, except we are the ones being hunted. AND, they practice surveillance pricing (don’t take you phone in, avoid cameras as you enter – really). Big Wally is Watching you.
I feel better now.
Much the same happened when supply chains were disrupted and prices spiked. Once supply chains were restored, there was little incentive for businesses to lower prices to pre-covid levels.
I don’t support Trump’s attempt to unilaterally cap prices by executive order, such as his attempt to CAP interest rates on credit cards at 10%. That is just too far authoritarian for my taste. Odd how conservatives are more upset as his authoritarian moves lately.
You are right. Price controls do not work.
But you were okay with Biden leaving the border open and allowing millions of ILLEGALS come into our country
Moron
No, I strongly believed Biden should have done more to stem to flow of immigrants sooner than he did. He made the mistake of wanting to change the actual laws that allow things like the asylum loophole. Bit silly of him to think conservatives would actually fix the system that creates their boogeyman.
Your Biden Derangement Syndrome is showing again Rebel. Unlike the MAGA crowd, I don’t blindly support everything done by the guy I voted for….heck, I have been very open that I was not a fan of Biden. He was just a better alternative that Trump.
Best wishes
Oh so Chris it’s like the millions that Joe and hunter took from the overseas interest. Is that what you’re talking about. Just take what you’re holding someone hostage for and don’t step on toes
I never saw any actual evidence of Biden taking bribes (just conspiracy theories given the investigations never found any actual evidence) unlike Trump who is openly taking in billions (see his ‘library’s Jet, crypto scams, and business deals his firm ‘won’ in the middle East). I was never a fan of the kinda of things Hunter was doing but they pale in comparison to Trumps kids raking in billions. Funny THAT doesn’t upset MAGA crowd that go so upset over Hunter selling low quality paintings for 20k each. But hypocrisy is kinda a conservative norm.
Best wishes.
Chris I never really thought much about Hunter’s paintings or who bought them but as
P. T. Barnum once said. “A fool and his money are soon parted”.
True that! Same with the fools that bought into Trump’s crypto scam. But THAT scam earned Drowsy Don $10s of millions.
Just to let you know Auto Insurance rates are based on claims paid in designated territories within North Carolina. Due to our local law enforcement agencies failure to enforce traffic laws, the many crashes, physical damages, injuries, and fatalities insurance in Guilford County will continue to escalate. You can thank the lack of leadership in Greensboro and Guilford County for this! Your local Greensboro Police Department quit effectively enforcing traffic law in Greensboro over 8 years ago. Now you must pay the penalty for their dereliction of duty. If these crashes and claims get much worse admitted insurance companies will pull out of NC and then you will see a enormous increase in rates. This is what has happened in Florida as you must now buy your home and auto insurance via excess carriers.
Fact Check:
reports from early 2025 suggest a roughly 29.8% reduction in total collisions in NC compared to previous years. (sourced http://www.carriermanagement.com)