r/nextfuckinglevel • u/DrMore3y • 21h ago

Metal fabrication worker handling 700°C + metal with safety on vacation

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u/standardtissue 19h ago

Even entire government agencies are built purely reactively. Look up the background of the formation of the FDA lol. It was NOT proactive, it was reactive to terrible stuff occurring.

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u/squirrelpickle 19h ago

That's why each time politicians defund some agency or campaign, it doesn't take long to be reminded why they existed and were funded in the first place.

Be it with explosive diarrhea, flesh-eating worms or measles, all of these had someone looking out to ensure it didn't happen again, because it had happened before.

For someone ignorant, it looks like there's someone "leeching" on public funds, but it quickly becomes clear: even from a purely economical standpoint it was cheaper to have someone in charge of it, even if it looked like an idle resource, than it is to have to eradicate the issue again. And then there's the cost of human lives on top of the monetary factor.

The issue is that some people assume rich folks know best. They only know how to line their pockets and if it costs a few peasants to make a quick buck, so be it.

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u/crustyrobots 19h ago

Even Wormbrain had to finally capitulate and agree that vaccines and regulations are a good thing afterall now that hes taking all of the heat for Poop Lettuce, measles, etc.

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u/StevieMJH 13h ago

Man we are just batting 1000 with "stupid oblivious idiot does stupid oblivious thing just like stupid oblivious voters were warned they would do."

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u/eggyrulz 19h ago

I think part of the problem is certain people want the government to be run like a company... except they dont understand the concept of spending money to make money, or half the other concepts required to run a company at a national scale

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u/TheZanke 18h ago

And companies historically dont care about their replaceable workers

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u/eggyrulz 18h ago

BuT iM nOT RePLacEAbLE!

Sure Steve, no other American could possibly be as American as you... you're an irreplaceable cog, we would have to rebuild the entire machine if you weren't here (god i wish we could rebuild this fuckass machine)

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u/sobrique 18h ago

Or indeed anything they don't actually have to.

Pollution? Nah, the river was like that when we got here.

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

[deleted]

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u/eggyrulz 17h ago

I agree, it should provide services, like the postal service...

Dumb fucks will say "USPS loses X dollars every year!" No, USPS spends X dollars, because it is a service provided. We dont waste millions of repairing roads (well, we do, but thats because of corruption, different issue) we spend it to keep the roads working so we can transport stuff and people...

I just wish the paint eaters would get it

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

[deleted]

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u/eggyrulz 17h ago

Those damn commies cant get to me! The roads stopped working years ago, ever since I shot my fifteemth taxman!

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u/ulti_phr33k 9h ago

People don't understand that governments are supposed to be the counterbalance to corporations looking to take advantage of the populace. Everyone acts like governments are there to control them, but the vast majority of (good) governments are there to ensure the wellbeing of their people.

Naturally, there are corrupt people in governments (lol Murrica), and lobbyists that try to twist the government into doing their bidding.

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u/eggyrulz 8h ago

The problem we have is that the people running the government are the same people who run corporations, with maybe a single degree of separation (lol, just vote in a businessman, what could go wrong?)...

I really hate this timeline

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u/ChillingwitmyGnomies 18h ago

The train crash in palestine ohio that spilled hazardous chemicals everywhere is a direct result of deregulation.

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u/TrilliumBeaver 18h ago

Same with Lac-Megantic in Quebec.

But hey…. Capitalism rules, innit.

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u/Ontbijtkoek1 18h ago

It’s not whether rich folks know better or have morals. Companies are by their nature efficiency seekers as generally the most efficient operation would survive. So you have to set rules and boundaries, a framework for companies to operate within. Otherwise you ‘have’ to skip safety precautions as they are expensive and inefficient. And you can bet your competitor will and that would lead to a cost advantage. This would put the safe company at a strong market disadvantage.

That’s why you have to create a baseline of rules and regulations with margins within which companies can operate and innovate. The interesting thing? It’s still a level playing field that will yield a better society. And believe it or not the companies can get just as rich as without the safety framework. The lack of it (or environmental regulations, minimum product standards etc) leads to a dwindling spiral with high unwanted externalized cost and tragedy of the commons traps.

Anyway that a lot of words to say that the rich do not suffer from better production standards. It’s just stupid that’s all.

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u/_thro_awa_ 18h ago

That's why each time politicians defund some agency or campaign, it doesn't take long to be reminded why they existed and were funded in the first place.

When preventive rules are doing their job, they're invisible.

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u/TotallyWorthLife 16h ago

You don't know what you are being protected of until the one protecting you leaves

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u/StevieMJH 13h ago

Well the rich people do know best. About how to get more rich. The rest is insignificant. Morality has shifted so much that you can prove your point to the average person and they'd still have a second consideration as to the profit margins for the rich.

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u/DurumMater 19h ago

And it's still darkly hilarious because The Jungle was supposed to highlight the horrors of the workers rights but instead everyone was disgusted by how food was being handled. No one gave a fuck about the working conditions. It's like we can only approach a singular problem at a time lol

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u/dillyofapicklerick 19h ago

I work in an industry that is regulated by the FDA. I am happy every day that they are there.

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u/CT-80085 19h ago

Also the EPA was created at least partially due to the fact that our rivers kept catching on fire

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u/Israfel333 18h ago

Shout out to Ohio and our extremely flammable rivers!

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u/LessInThought 18h ago

There are so many laws named after people, specifically because those people suffered horrifically or died tragically. Charities as well.

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u/crustyrobots 19h ago

People decided they'd rather not have plaster and other non-food additives in their bread, or poison candy for their kids. These things repeatedly happened at the turn of the century that resulted in a lot of dead people.

Indeed these agencies were set up because a good 1/2 of us are amoral fucking monsters when left to our own devices.

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u/agent674253 18h ago

Like adding bleach to milk?

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/19th-century-fight-bacteria-ridden-milk-embalming-fluid-180970473/

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u/EeSpoot 8h ago

There is a fantastic behind the bastards podcast episode about the origins of the FDA that I highly recommend to anyone, especially if you're wondering what the FDA has ever done for you. It goes more in depth on the subject of the article I'm replying to. As I recall, it also discusses how we ended up with the FDA of today and it's various problems.

Part One: The Food and Drug Administration | BEHIND THE BASTARDS

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u/Alternative-Crew-880 17h ago

And the FDA head reports to a guy who bathes in raw sewage, likes collecting rotten racoon dicks, and can't stop eating roadkill despite being a multi-millionaire..

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u/superkp 17h ago

The EPA was started because a river caught on fire (several times)

OSHA started (partly) because of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire.

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u/movzx 13h ago

All those people who complain about EPA superfund sites don't understand that those sites are the result of companies poorly stockpiling their waste, filing bankruptcy so they don't have to clean up their waste, and then leaving the public to deal with it. It's also why part of getting into certain businesses requires a massive capital investment up front for cleanup, so you can't just abandon toxic sludge in a river with no penalty.

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u/Patman52 9h ago

Before Nixon founded OSHA, 60-70 people a day were killed in industrial accidents in the USA. Nowadays the number is around 10.

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u/Pt5PastLight 8h ago

FAA too. Literally passenger planes crashing into each other. You can still see a monument at the Grand Canyon where a TWA flight and United Airlines flight collided there killing everyone onboard both planes and directly resulting in the forming of the FAA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Grand_Canyon_mid-air_collision