, Columnist
The Insurance Crisis Is So Desperate People Are Turning Socialist
Wildfire losses pushed insurers out of California.
Photographer: Michael Nigro/Bloomberg
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Americans seem increasingly desperate about the cost of home insurance.
In a recent survey of US homeowners, large percentages backed some pretty unrealistic solutions to the problem of soaring insurance costs. Many involve socializing the industry in ways that would keep capitalists awake at night if the methods were politically viable. But as the status quo involves passing on catastrophe losses directly to consumers without recourse, capitalists shouldn’t sleep easy until they start offering some better ideas.