On 4/14/11 19:21 , Joe from Kokomo wrote:
On 4/14/2011 8:49 AM, Joe from Kokomo wrote:
On 4/14/2011 12:49 AM, wrote:
When I worked at Delta Cotton Oil, some of those shafts were
powered by
big flat belts.One time one of those guys somehow got part of his
pants
caught between the belt on one of those shafts.It snatched his
pants
right OFF of him.
Or, as the Republicans would say, "WE don't need no big government,
we don't need no stinkin' OSHA".
On 4/14/2011 10:06 AM, Kevin Alfred Strom wrote:
As I hope you've divined by now, I have no attachment whatever to the
increasingly despicable Republicans.
But it does seem odd, even perverse, to me that anyone harmed by the
actions of another would immediately run to the biggest band of
criminals in North America -- the "legislators" and "regulators" in
Washington -- as a solution.
First of all, you seem to be putting the cart before the horse when
you say "anyone harmed by the actions of another". The *whole point*
of agencies like OSHA is to keep people from being harmed in the
first place. If the OSHA mandated belt guards were installed,
Coohoo's buddy would not have been sucked in in the first place.
Finally, "odd, even perverse" is your opinion of regulators.
Personally, I'm sort of glad that we have agencies like the FDA and
the FAA, to name just two. Are they perfect? Heck, no. Are they
better than taking your chances with private businesses driven by
greed? In my opinion...yes, waaay better.
Please remember that these regulatory agencies came into being
solely because of scandals and disasters usually caused by the
carelessness and/or greed of private businesses wanting to save a
buck (like not installing the belt guards).
No, these agencies came into being as a political response to
headlines borne of scandals and disasters. That is a significant
distinction. As such, there is a political element to their
operation, as well as their priorities. They are to be no more
trusted than the entities they were created to regulate.
I remember being on site during an OSHA inspection of a drafting
firm I worked at in the late mid 70's. The OSHA representative
threatened to write us up over several electrical violations in the
closet housing the fuse box and mains switch. Apparently, no one had
told her that the third wire to the case on screw terminal was a
ground, and that the exposed nature of the connection to the
grounding tang was actually code. She insisted that the wire be
removed at once from that screw tang and be capped off. When we
tried to tell her that doing so would create an electrical hazard
throughout the building, she threatened to shut the business down
until we complied. So, we turned off all the electrical devices,
gave everyone the rest of the day off, our house engineer removed
the offending wire, and she gave us a passing evaluation.
She left, we put the wire back, and restarted the building.
OSHA, and other agencies like them, are a good idea in principle.
I have no problem, there. But, in practice, they are more obstacle
than barrier, and their political nature makes them impervious to
facts.
There has got to be a better way. Sadly, because the creation of
these agencies is politically motivated, there is no political will
to find one.