Lew, the counter-intuitive response of government-sponsored bureaucracies like the FDIC make me laugh. So we already know that the FDIC is not really insuring banks in any meaningful sense, although they keep that “Insurance” word in the title. But, imagine what an actual above-board insurance company would do in an emergency – say a hurricane hitting a populated area. In the days before and after the hurricane, can you imagine State Farm sending a bill to all of its customers in the Southeast for an emergency premium hike to cover the payouts that it knows are imminent?
Likewise, I’ve noticed that post offices are decreasing their hours. Now, for some branches, this might make sense. But my local branch always has a 30-minute line. Again, imagine a local grocery store having the problem of too many customers. Would it a) increase employee hours either by hiring more checkers and/or adding another shift or b) decrease employee hours by keeping the same number of checkers and closing 2 hours earlier? To ask is to answer.
5:11 pm on March 4, 2009
