Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nMy car broke down Saturday evening, as I was coming home from St.
Cloud.\u00a0 Well not “broke,” exactly.\u00a0 The computer decided something was
wrong and threw me into “Limp Mode.”\u00a0 Engine runs but can’t go over 15
mph.\u00a0 It’s designed so you can limp to the nearest exit to get your car
off the freeway.\u00a0 I limped to Clearwater Truck Stop, called the tow
truck to haul it to the dealership in St. Cloud and arranged for a ride
home to the Twin Cities.
This is what happens in a High Trust society.\u00a0 I gave a $30,000 car to
the tow truck driver, gave him my credit card number to pay the
difference between what AAA would pay and the actual cost of the tow
when he gets the final total, and just assumed the car would make it to
the dealer who would give me an honest diagnosis and estimate of repair
costs.\u00a0 I felt perfectly safe doing so. This isn’t some Third World
country where giving a stranger my vehicle and credit card number would
be insanity.\u00a0 This is America; that’s how we do things, here.
Interestingly, when I called the dealership to alert them the car was
coming, they asked what model year and how many miles, then said, “Oh,
your 5-year 60,000 mile warranty expired last month.” Uh huh, of course
it did.\u00a0 And the computer that controls the engine knows that date,
too.\u00a0 How convenient that it waited until now to discover the problem on
my nickel, not theirs.\u00a0 It’s like video blackjack at the casino.\u00a0 The
machine is required to pay out 93% but no more, which is achieved by
software controlling which cards I am dealt.\u00a0 Oh, you needed a seven?\u00a0
You got a nine. Bust.\u00a0 You lose.\u00a0 Uh huh, sure I did.
What, I don’t trust the billion-dollar car maker computer or the
scrupulously honest casino computer as much as I trust a greasy-faced
20-something kid in overhauls?\u00a0 No, I don’t.\u00a0 And don’t even get me
started on medical doctors with their ever-changing SCIENCE, corrupt
politicians selling influence, or economists who can’t figure out why
too many dollars chasing too few goods would result in price increases.\u00a0
I don’t trust any of those jokers.\u00a0 They’re transforming America from a
High Trust society into a Low Trust Third World society and I hate it.
But not the kid.\u00a0 Him, I trust.
Joe Doakes<\/p>\n