why we have them
Today's blog is about politics. Yup, yer favorite subject, I know. And me on my soapbox isn't probably the greatest thing in the world to read. I hope though, that at the end of this you'll at least look at things through a different lens.
Often, those on the right complain that there is too much government. Too much regulation. I agree that we shouldn't try to regulate stupidity out of the workplace. Those kinds of things can be cumbersome and expensive. On the other hand, though, a lack of regulation on dangerous things can cause problems for all of us.
If you've seen the news lately, you know a chemical spill polluted a river in West Virginia. What I didn't know until last night is that said pollution flowed into another major river and is flowing downstream to Ohio and beyond. People have been made sick and nobody knows right now what the long term effects will be to the environment. If people got sick drinking the water, what about the wildlife and fish that rely on that same water?
What happens in one state can affect the people of another state. It's why we have the Federal Government in the first place. The state though, did a poor job of regulating this particular business and in a climate where doing the right thing takes the back seat to profits and greed is running rampant, you can't just let people go and hope they'll do the right thing.
History teaches us that they won't.
A lot of history.
Regulations and rules are usually born out of incidents where someone did this or that.
This time, lack of those rules will affect the lives of people who live a long way away from where the accident happened. Sometimes the role of government is to protect the few from the many. Please don't forget that.
Often, those on the right complain that there is too much government. Too much regulation. I agree that we shouldn't try to regulate stupidity out of the workplace. Those kinds of things can be cumbersome and expensive. On the other hand, though, a lack of regulation on dangerous things can cause problems for all of us.
If you've seen the news lately, you know a chemical spill polluted a river in West Virginia. What I didn't know until last night is that said pollution flowed into another major river and is flowing downstream to Ohio and beyond. People have been made sick and nobody knows right now what the long term effects will be to the environment. If people got sick drinking the water, what about the wildlife and fish that rely on that same water?
What happens in one state can affect the people of another state. It's why we have the Federal Government in the first place. The state though, did a poor job of regulating this particular business and in a climate where doing the right thing takes the back seat to profits and greed is running rampant, you can't just let people go and hope they'll do the right thing.
History teaches us that they won't.
A lot of history.
Regulations and rules are usually born out of incidents where someone did this or that.
This time, lack of those rules will affect the lives of people who live a long way away from where the accident happened. Sometimes the role of government is to protect the few from the many. Please don't forget that.
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