Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to re: Love Canal

The Jungle
Mary Anne — (archived)

As Tom has pointed out many times, there are quite a few people who seem to believe that if the government doesn't do something, it won't ever get done by anyone. Your example of meat inspectors is an illustration of that mindset.

...by Upton Sinclair. That, coupled with Teddy Roosevelt's investigation of the Chicago meat packing industry in 1904-05, led to the Meat Inspection Act of 1907. This was necessary because, by the standards of the early 20th century, the conditions in the self-regulating meat industry were appalling and a threat to public health.

The reason quite a few people believe that if the government doesn't do something, it won't ever get done by anyone is because history has taught us that if the government doesn't do something, it won't ever get done by anyone, or at least it won't get done until there's a major catastrophe or a major scandal, or both.

Regards--
Mary Anne

Tell me, how many tainted meat cases have there been over the past 10 years in the US? How could these cases have happened since government inspectors are already on the job?

How about improper storage, refrigeration and handling not at the point of production but at the point of sale? How about not enough inspectors to cover all the restaurants and markets adequately? How about food handlers who don't wash their hands after they use the toilet?

As long as the CEO and the major stockholders don't have to live in the neighborhood, a host of industries don't care about dumping unless they get fined for it. If a voluntary trade organization decides to fine a member, what happens? The member withdraws from the organization, and there goes your enforcement. The government, on the other hand, has teeth. It's not a perfect system, especially since corruption (another way in which some businesses and industries confound enforcement) claims some fraction of the regulators regardless of any safeguards, but it beats having no oversight at all. Notice too how many industry and business groups will patrol their own ranks because of the threat of government regulation.

When the issue is public health and safety, the government has an interest and a responsibility.

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