Folks, there is a lot wrong going on in the NC House right now. If passed, this bill (note: this is v.1, we are actually onto v.6 now) will impact you on a daily basis. But instead of jumping headfirst into the mechanics of the bill, let’s propose a little thought experiment.
Imagine two small neighborhoods in one small town in Anywhere, USA. In both neighborhoods, there is a civil justice system that metes out punishment for civil wrongs. You cheat on your wife? You’re going to the neighborhood court. You accidentally kill the prized tomatoes in Ol’ Lady Weatherly’s garden? You’re going to the neighborhood court.
So in Neighborhood A, there is a Rule of the Court. That Rule says the following: “If you break it, you bought it, end of story.”
But in Neighborhood B, there is a slightly different Rule. B’s Rule says the following: “If you break it, you bought it, to the extent that the owner doesn’t have any insurance for it.”
Neighborhood A thinks that Neighborhood B’s Rule is against all that’s good and holy in this world. Neighborhood B thinks their Rule is much more sophisticated, and it generates less cost over time. Well let’s see about that.
There’s a group of young boys that meet once a week to play ball in the neighborhood streets. They play stick-ball, and the best place to play stick-ball is a good ol’ fashioned cul-de-sac. The teams are comprised of kids from Neighborhood A and Neighborhood B.
One day, these young boys are playing ball, innocently as you did when you were a kid. But lil’ Tommy Jones is up at the plate. He’s a pretty good batter, nothing special, but good. He takes the first pitch outside. “Ball!” yells his friend pretending to be the umpire. Next pitch, Tommy Jones makes perfect contact, and sends the ball clear out of the park. Well, except it isn’t a park, it’s a cul-de-sac, and the ball sails clear through the front window of Mrs. Smith’s house!
“Uh oh!” says an exasperated Tommy Jones. But Tommy, in addition to having a heckuva swing, also is a Boy Scout and a black-belt in karate. He knows, from his family, and from Scouts and karate, that when you do wrong, the best thing to do is own up to it and take full responsibility.
He rings Mrs. Smith’s doorbell, she greets him with a look of disdain, holding the ball. Tommy expresses remorse, gives Mrs. Smith his home phone number, and tells her to please get an estimate and he’ll make sure he pays her back the cost of repairing the window. “Every red cent!” Says Tommy.
Story continues on the flip!
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