Stalin
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2008
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Thirty federal agencies had made proposals to eliminate or modify hundreds of regulations, Sunstein added, in order to “save private-sector dollars [i.e., corporate and bank profits] and unlock economic growth by eliminating unjustified regulations.”
While details are still emerging, the deregulations will have a significant impact on public safety. One of the proposals, for example, would, according to Sunstein, “eliminate the obligation for many states to require air pollution vapor recovery systems at local gas stations, on the ground that modern vehicles already have effective air pollution control technologies.” Of course, not all vehicles on the roads fall into this category.
Another aspect of the anti-regulatory drive will focus on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), responsible for monitoring workplace safety and injuries. Sunstein told the American Enterprise Institute that the new rules would “remove over 1.9 million annual hours or redundant reporting burdens on employers and save more than $40 million in annual costs. Businesses will no longer be saddled with the obligation to fill out unnecessary government forms.”
This presentation―that corporations are burdened by needless regulations relating to workplace safety―is an utter fiction. In fact, US workplace injuries are systematically underreported. As detailed in the recent investigation into the Upper Big Branch mine disaster, which killed 29 coal operators in April 2010, corporations routinely violate basic safety precautions, endangering the lives and safety of workers on a daily basis. Government agencies charged with inspecting workplaces are notoriously understaffed and existing regulations are poorly enforced.
The AFL-CIO’s “‘Dead on the Job’ Report,” 2011, points out: “In 2009, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4,340 workers were killed on the job―an average of 12 workers every day―and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. More than 4.1 million work-related injuries and illnesses were reported, but this number understates the problem. The true toll of job injuries is two to three times greater―about 8 million to12 million job injuries and illnesses each year.…
“The number of workplace inspectors is woefully inadequate. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the state OSHA plans have a total of 2,218 inspectors (925 federal and 1,293 state inspectors) to inspect the 8 million workplaces under the OSH Act’s jurisdiction. Federal OSHA can inspect workplaces on average once every 129 years; the state OSHA plans can inspect them once every 67 years. The current level of federal and state OSHA inspectors provides one inspector for every 57,984 workers.”
Sunstein stressed that any regulations will be the product of close discussion with the corporations affected. “The president made an unprecedented commitment to promoting public participation in the rulemaking process,” he stressed to the AEI. The regulations will also be subject to a strict cost-benefit analysis, i.e., they will measure social benefits against the monetary impact of the regulations on corporate profits. Regulations will proceed “only on the basis of a reasonable determination that the benefits justify the costs,” he added.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/may2011/regu-m28.shtml
Comrade Stalin
While details are still emerging, the deregulations will have a significant impact on public safety. One of the proposals, for example, would, according to Sunstein, “eliminate the obligation for many states to require air pollution vapor recovery systems at local gas stations, on the ground that modern vehicles already have effective air pollution control technologies.” Of course, not all vehicles on the roads fall into this category.
Another aspect of the anti-regulatory drive will focus on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), responsible for monitoring workplace safety and injuries. Sunstein told the American Enterprise Institute that the new rules would “remove over 1.9 million annual hours or redundant reporting burdens on employers and save more than $40 million in annual costs. Businesses will no longer be saddled with the obligation to fill out unnecessary government forms.”
This presentation―that corporations are burdened by needless regulations relating to workplace safety―is an utter fiction. In fact, US workplace injuries are systematically underreported. As detailed in the recent investigation into the Upper Big Branch mine disaster, which killed 29 coal operators in April 2010, corporations routinely violate basic safety precautions, endangering the lives and safety of workers on a daily basis. Government agencies charged with inspecting workplaces are notoriously understaffed and existing regulations are poorly enforced.
The AFL-CIO’s “‘Dead on the Job’ Report,” 2011, points out: “In 2009, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4,340 workers were killed on the job―an average of 12 workers every day―and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. More than 4.1 million work-related injuries and illnesses were reported, but this number understates the problem. The true toll of job injuries is two to three times greater―about 8 million to12 million job injuries and illnesses each year.…
“The number of workplace inspectors is woefully inadequate. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the state OSHA plans have a total of 2,218 inspectors (925 federal and 1,293 state inspectors) to inspect the 8 million workplaces under the OSH Act’s jurisdiction. Federal OSHA can inspect workplaces on average once every 129 years; the state OSHA plans can inspect them once every 67 years. The current level of federal and state OSHA inspectors provides one inspector for every 57,984 workers.”
Sunstein stressed that any regulations will be the product of close discussion with the corporations affected. “The president made an unprecedented commitment to promoting public participation in the rulemaking process,” he stressed to the AEI. The regulations will also be subject to a strict cost-benefit analysis, i.e., they will measure social benefits against the monetary impact of the regulations on corporate profits. Regulations will proceed “only on the basis of a reasonable determination that the benefits justify the costs,” he added.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/may2011/regu-m28.shtml
Comrade Stalin
