It’s clear Congress refuses to hold big business accountable. The bankers and corporate CEOs responsible for the mortgage crisis that led to the recession faced no penalties.
We handed billions in bailout dollars to the same companies and asked for nothing in return. No real Wall Street regulations or reforms have passed. When natural gas and chemicals from hydraulic fracturing lead to flammable tap water, when oil spills pollute our coasts and rivers, we see no new regulation and no attempts to prevent this from happening again. In the face of mining disasters we have seen no new worker protections.
But if Congress will not do its job in protecting Americans and holding corporate criminals accountable, the courts will.
In 2010, there was an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia that killed 29 workers. The mine belonged to a company called Massey Energy and its former security chief, Hughie Stover, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday. He was found guilty of trying to destroy evidence and lying to investigators looking into the disaster. Prosecutors also charged the mine’s superintendent with conspiracy.
No new regulations were passed in response to the disaster. This isn’t much of a surprise, if we follow the money. Since 1990 Massey Energy and its political action committee have given more than $307,000 to federal political candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Of that money, 91 percent went to Republicans. It’s not that much money considering election campaigns may cost millions. But it may help explain the Republican belief in deregulation in the face of all reason.
After all, politicians need to represent their paying customers — or is the word “constituents?”
But even these charges may not be enough to make up for Congress’ refusal to regulate. Neither of the men involved is charged with allowing the mine to ignore safety regulations, even though the investigation found the mine was not following even the limited federal regulations. Instead, they were charged for trying to cover up the company’s problems. Will anyone be charged for safety failures that led to 29 deaths?
Something similar is happening in Idaho. Federal investigators are looking into deaths at the Lucky Friday silver mine in northern Idaho owned by Hecla Mining Company. Investigators have shut down the mine, but so far have made no charges.
Idaho, of course, won’t pass any new regulations just because of a few deaths. Regulating businesses that put workers in unsafe conditions goes against state Republican ideology. Legislators don’t want to interfere with the freedom of companies to provide an unsafe work environment. Incidentally, Hecla has given $14,150 in individual or PAC contributions in the 2012 election year.
But if Idaho isn’t interested in regulation or accountability, we’ve seen that courts are. Someone needs to be held accountable for unsafe conditions leading to deaths in these mines. That will be up to federal investigators to determine who’s at fault. The rest of us need to stop supporting a culture of deregulation that hurts workers and America, and start scrutinizing the members of Congress receiving contributions from the very businesses they pass laws to regulate.
We handed billions in bailout dollars to the same companies and asked for nothing in return. No real Wall Street regulations or reforms have passed. When natural gas and chemicals from hydraulic fracturing lead to flammable tap water, when oil spills pollute our coasts and rivers, we see no new regulation and no attempts to prevent this from happening again. In the face of mining disasters we have seen no new worker protections.
But if Congress will not do its job in protecting Americans and holding corporate criminals accountable, the courts will.
In 2010, there was an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia that killed 29 workers. The mine belonged to a company called Massey Energy and its former security chief, Hughie Stover, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday. He was found guilty of trying to destroy evidence and lying to investigators looking into the disaster. Prosecutors also charged the mine’s superintendent with conspiracy.
No new regulations were passed in response to the disaster. This isn’t much of a surprise, if we follow the money. Since 1990 Massey Energy and its political action committee have given more than $307,000 to federal political candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Of that money, 91 percent went to Republicans. It’s not that much money considering election campaigns may cost millions. But it may help explain the Republican belief in deregulation in the face of all reason.
After all, politicians need to represent their paying customers — or is the word “constituents?”
But even these charges may not be enough to make up for Congress’ refusal to regulate. Neither of the men involved is charged with allowing the mine to ignore safety regulations, even though the investigation found the mine was not following even the limited federal regulations. Instead, they were charged for trying to cover up the company’s problems. Will anyone be charged for safety failures that led to 29 deaths?
Something similar is happening in Idaho. Federal investigators are looking into deaths at the Lucky Friday silver mine in northern Idaho owned by Hecla Mining Company. Investigators have shut down the mine, but so far have made no charges.
Idaho, of course, won’t pass any new regulations just because of a few deaths. Regulating businesses that put workers in unsafe conditions goes against state Republican ideology. Legislators don’t want to interfere with the freedom of companies to provide an unsafe work environment. Incidentally, Hecla has given $14,150 in individual or PAC contributions in the 2012 election year.
But if Idaho isn’t interested in regulation or accountability, we’ve seen that courts are. Someone needs to be held accountable for unsafe conditions leading to deaths in these mines. That will be up to federal investigators to determine who’s at fault. The rest of us need to stop supporting a culture of deregulation that hurts workers and America, and start scrutinizing the members of Congress receiving contributions from the very businesses they pass laws to regulate.
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