Unregulated Business and Death

In the study of economics, there is a concept called “neoliberalism”, not to be confused with left wing politics, also sometimes called “liberalism”.

Neoliberalism is the economic system that we have been operating under for decades. It was theorized by Friedman and Hayek, and others, and championed by Reagan.

The idea is that if the markets are completely free from regulation and government interference (liberal=free), then corporations will thrive and the effects of that will “trickle down” to consumers.

The problem is that they didn’t take into account corporate greed. Corporations are made up of people, and people who run them and make decisions are answerable to shareholders who demand more and more, even if it is counter-intuitive.

Look at the history of industrialism. A corporation will NEVER do what is in the best interest of its employees unless they are forced to.
They had to be forced by law and by unions to pay overtime, to provide days off, to make the workplaces safe, to pay a minimum wage – and more recently, to provide healthcare, paid leave, family leave and so on.

In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in Manhattan caught fire. It was on the top floor of a large building. It employed mostly immigrant women.

To keep the women from “escaping”, the owners locked the door.
146 people, mostly women and girls, burned to death or jumped out the window and plummeted to their death. People stood in shock on the sidewalks and watched their neighbors die brutal and agonizing deaths. It marked a change in the awareness of the public, similar to watching ICE thugs terrorize neighborhoods.

As we remember 9/11, let’s also remember the results of unregulated capitalism. The women that died didn’t affect the owners at all. Immigrant labor was cheap and replaceable.

But one woman who watched in horror from the sidewalk later became the Secretary of Labor for FDR and brought about the changes in the workforce that the current capitalists are now trying to dismantle. Her name was Francis Perkins.

In our own day, the deregulation of corporations is leading to bankrupt cancer patients, poisoned food supply, massive poverty and unemployment and record high prices.

I believe in and support business. But I also know that unscrupulous men generally move up the ladder to places of power and use that power to consolidate power and wealth into the hands of the few.

Business MUST be regulated to thrive. If employees are healthy, paid a living wage, have access to healthcare and are safe, the company will prosper.

But the unscrupulous men who hold the power would rather have the extra billions.

So they cut wages, cut labor, cut equipment costs, lock the fire escapes, and do whatever they can get away with.

Until the people say “ENOUGH.”

I’m saying “enough”. If the Federal Government refuses to regulate the safety and equity of our businesses, the state MUST do it or we are right back to 1911.

Study history. It might help.