DISCOUNT THIS IDEA

The idea to offer auto insurance discounts to students who pass drug tests
might sound good to shareholders in drug testing firms, but otherwise it
doesn't make much sense.

Rewarding young people for merely obeying the law, as if it isn't an
automatic expectation, degrades the idea of self-responsibility. And
offering a trade off, an invasion the teen's personal privacy for a small
economic benefit, undermines the notion that liberty is priceless.

For those who couldn't care less about these issues, there is another
important question. Where is the discount going to come from? Straight from
the increased premiums of other policy holders, no doubt.

Martin Luther King Jr. said he dreamed of a country where people would be
judged by the content of their character. Instead of taking on this
difficult task, more and more frequently we are satisfied to judge people
simply by the content of their urine.

Stephen Young
Roselle