Random Thoughts: If I were.....

... an Insurance Agent, I don't think I would want any of my friends or ward members for clients.

Why, you ask? Well, imagine my friend has something bad happen and comes to me to have the company pay out. Suppose HQ tells me that it's my friend's fault and I can't give out anything. The conflict comes in that I'm supposed to be HQ's representative to my friend rather than my friend's representative to HQ. The friend could get pretty mad, and I've known people who left the church over less of a dispute than that.

I'd much rather refer people to another agent in the firm I can vouch for. That way when such an unhappy state occurs, I can be my friend's rep to the other agent, go to bat, and even if the answer is negative there's a much better chance the friend won't blame me.

Thankfully, economists rarely run into problems like that. Teachers on the other hand, a bit more so.... "Yeah, sorry, dude, but your son's an airhead. He thinks that Karl Marx starred in a bunch of black and white movies and Adam Smith was Joseph's older brother who died of constipation. I had to flunk him." ... I think I'd better work on my delivery. ;)

Any other thoughts about providing professional services to ward members and friends? How much of a discount do you give your home teacher?