Friday, August 31, 2018

Cutting Corners and Externalizing Cost

Several times before I have blogged about how capitalists have a double standard. On the one hand, they don't want to pay taxes for the benefit of society, a society that sustains them. But on the other hand, they want society to pay when something goes wrong. They are always expecting the government, that is us, to bail them out when they make mistakes or even fraud. The example I have in mind is the disaster caused by mismanagement of a chemical plant in Texas that caused an environmental disaster when hurricane Harvey poured torrential rain over it. As you can read in the following article in The Guardian newspaper:
  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/01/harvey-shines-a-spotlight-on-a-high-risk-area-of-chemical-plants-in-texas
It was a disaster waiting to happen. Those responsible were aware of the danger but nevertheless opted for saving a few dollars, now we all have to pay. Proof of their negligence these officials were indicted for mismanagement as you can read here https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/03/arkema-indictment-chemical-fire-hurricane-harvey/
This picture from Arkema Facebook page shows the extent of the flooding at the plant in Crosby TX.

Hurricanes are a common occurrence so how are we going to make those who are responsible for the safety of our society accountable when they neglect their duty.