Moral Hazard Abound

I have been exceedingly frustrated by the information asymmetry in the auto repair business. Certainly this occurs elsewhere, such as computer repair and maintenance, but since computers are a much smaller investment, businesses usually can't get away with charges greater than the value of a new computer (unless you have to get critical files from a damaged hard drive or something).

I have now gone to five different auto repair shops in the area for routine oil change and tire rotation, and ONCE for a repair: my wheels were out of alignment (diagnosed that one myself!). Four out of the five places tried to sell me an extra service, from fluid flushes, serpentine belt, a fix for a water pump leak, even to brakes; one of the four actually succeeded. I found out later it was way too soon for the service. Needless to say, my car is in top condition for its age in spite of not following all of those heavily touted "recommendations."

I've been on the search for automotive courses or a highly knowledgeable friend to teach me how to check all the parts under the hood myself. Like my computer, which I learned how to fix inside and out with help from nerdy friends and self-teaching, it appears I'll have to do the same with my car to save money and my peace of mind. If I can determine not only whether something is wrong, but what is wrong, then I can even out the information imbalance.

Clearly, my time would be better spent doing something more productive than becoming a specialist on my car, but right now the cost of labor at an auto repair shop on bogus services is higher than the value of my time spent specializing. Of course I say 'no' when I smell something fishy, but not really knowing if it's a real or fictitious problem leaves me uneasy.

So lately I've been pondering ways the auto repair business could become more transparent. Frankly I'm stumped. Sites like Yelp and CostHelper haven't been helpful in this area because the people who rate auto shops and post "competitive" cost estimates are usually as auto illiterate as myself. Additionally, being AAA and ASE certified and BBB accredited seem ineffective for this kind of problem. Thoughts on how to address this? Has anyone in the area found a mechanic that doesn't try to push extra, unnecessary services?

Man on Fire

"So much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot." --George Orwell

Krugman gets cheeky with analogies of fire departments with financial reform: “…letting banks fail — as opposed to [the government] seizing and restructuring them — is a bad idea for the same reason that it’s a bad idea to stand aside while an urban office building burns.” To extend that analogy, then Krugman’s proposition is to give the arsonists the task of dousing the building they set fire to in the first place.

The Tax Man Cometh

As Mark Twain said, "The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin."

Taxes on the "rich" are expected to increase at the national level, and some states have already attempted to tax the "rich," but still find themselves strapped for cash. No matter how much it's argued that the financial crisis was what made the millionaires "disappear" because they fell into lower income brackets, it still has to be acknowledged that there's also been some outmigration. Maybe Edwards & Mitchell will turn out to be right about a global tax revolution. WSJ articles already portend such signs to come. It appears that more U.S. citizens and green card holders are severing ties to the U.S. Doing this at least helps prevent or delay the tax man from finding your stashed cash overseas, whether it be in Switzerland or Hong Kong.

In fact, immigration has fallen in the wake of the recession, including for H1-B visa holders, which typically require a minimum of postsecondary education or an equivalent, so we're not just talking about low-skill labor. On top of that, though the birth rate among older women has increased, the overall birth rate has been declining, and this has also been associated with the recession. Some would argue that this is a good thing since there will be less people (both migrant and natural-born citizen) to compete for jobs. Well, that also means less people are around to provide the jobs.

But this is all just some scaremonger's rhetoric to alarm people about government burden, right?