Month: January 2019

The voters of California elected a new insurance commissioner! A new and young promising politician is what voters need in the 21 century. As with all politicians, it is what they promised to do IF elected that counts.
Mr. Lara was elected–I am happy!
In this blog, I posted an open letter to Mr. Lara to begin a discussion on a topic largely ignored. My fellow advocates and I are anxiously waiting for our challenge and his promise to take care of California consumers.
On his campaign website he wrote:
“Stand With Ricardo
Together, we can make a difference.
As California’s Insurance Commissioner, I’ll work tirelessly to represent the great people of California, not the corporations, the billionaire class, the pharmaceutical or the INSURANCE COMPANIES (emphasis mine). I plan to work with anybody who is willing to come to the table, but my allegiance will always be first and foremost to the consumers, the patients, our working families, and our most vulnerable communities in our Golden State.”
There are hundreds of thousands of public school teachers and their beneficiaries who need protection from the 403(b)/TSA annuity sales force.
We are confident that he or a member of his staff will begin a discussion with us on this wholly neglected topic: reforming insurance code 770.3 and the 403(b) retirement plans sold to teachers.

Do you have a personal hero? I have had several over my life, and grateful for every one of them. Personal heroes are a real treasure that many of us give to ourselves to emulate so we can become better people. There is always a need to improve my life!  All of my heroes have the same deep ethical behaviors that I wish to emulate: humility, commitment, thriftiness, courage, and kindness. The minute I discovered Jack Bogle 25 years ago and read a little about his investing philosophy, I knew right then and there he was my hero.