Republicans set on reducing government spending at all costs may be putting the lives of Americans at risk for disaster, disease and even death. Recent budget cut proposals include cutting 30% of the funding for the tsunami warning system, and hundreds of other safety-oriented regulations.
“Republicans' aversion to government regulation is well-known and longstanding. But with the GOP back in charge in the House of Representatives, there's a renewed offensive against the thousands of federal rules that affect how business is done,” according to reports.
Other public safety issues on the GOP cutting table are rollbacks for safe drinking water, ban the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating air pollution, and block product safety data information.
The GOP claims that rolling back or stopping the enforcement of regulations will create jobs. However, allowing businesses to pollute more and cut corners on public safety is no guarantee that an abundance of good paying jobs will suddenly appear.
"If just getting rid of regulations was the easy way to create jobs, it would've been done. These are very complex issues. . . .It's one thing to have a job, and it's another thing to know that there are regulations in place to make sure that you come home at the end of the day, that you're not harmed, and that American people are kept safe. That's the balance," Rep. Elijah Cummings (D- MD) told Common Dreams.
Clean drinking water, clean air, and tsunami disaster warnings may not be a high priority for the Republican Party, however, the American public may disagree.
Adding possible cancer causing contaminants to the environment and weakening disaster warning systems may sound good to republicans, but many Americans may not be willing to trade their health and safety, particularly with no guarantee that a single new job will be created.
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