Tom Toles for March 18, 2011

No nuke melt downs yet, but lots, and lots of other damage, like can anyone say, Banks, BP, and mortgage crises, like “derivatives”?

Deregulation works like a charm. Literally.

When everything is legal, you have a crime rate of zero! Crime only exists where there are laws defining as ‘crimes’ perfectly human and often profitable actions like murder and robbery.

might have mitigated some of the effects of the natural disaster.

might have mitigated some of the effects of the natural disaster.

Tell me something jackson….what do you have to back up your claim that those buildings in Japan survived because of the ‘free market society’? Where’s your proof?

Or are we supposed to believe it because you said so?

Toles just omits the fact that the GOP is not in charge…in the Oval Office or the US Senate! The GOP in the House are actually trying to tend to the business the American voters sent them there to do! and it is far more than “regulations”…..and 40 years of regulations of nuclear in Japan-USA did not cause the damages done by a trio of crises…earthquake (the nuke plants survived that) plus tsunami (that caused the nuke problems).

In that 40 years, there was both D and R in charge of our government.

In the US, Democrats are in charge…..are Dems to blame? (btw, which party is in charge of WEATHER?)

The Japanese are now considering the burying of the power plants. They opted for the cheapest reactors, not the safest. One will get you 10 that the reactors built to replace these will have stricter regulations for their construction and materials.

Where, exactly, did Toles make the contention that the R’s ARE in charge disgusted? He didn’t; this is yet another one of your straw-man arguments.

Jack, as usual, states exactly the opposite of the truth. The reason that Port-au-Prince Haiti completely crumbled is because of the free market, and the lack of regulations. The reason that Japan did so much better is because of strict, government regulations (seismic building codes, in this case), that work to mitigate the worst affects of the free market’s race-to-the-bottom, stating in effect, “the bottom is here.” The widespread deaths of children in China’s earthquakes were the result of corruption that allowed the builders of schools to avoid building codes, with the expectation that the builders would never get caught.

And Harley, the Republicans are all about removing regulations on safety, efficiency, and worker protections. It’s really surprising to hear you say they don’t. They tried to prevent any new regulations from being issued in my state, which is one-size-fits-all idiocy. And cutting the budget of the tsunami warning system by 30%, not because they know anything about waste in the program but because it seems like a nice round number is the height of stupidity. Where there’s fat in government, cut it. Where there isn’t, find a way to pay for it.

Harley’s avatar is GOOFY! GOOFY!! Whatever Harley says is GOOFY!! Really over the top GOOFY!!

Perhaps there is a chance that Goofy (I mean Harley) is thoughtful progressive playing at an unthinking stupid right-wing nutter.

UH, ….. NA!!

^ per a news release from Japan regarding the reactors. It stated that they bought the reactors from GE not because they were safer, but because they cost less.

Remember that the cost of manufacturing in Japan is much higher than in the U.S. with a few exceptions.

Harley, in order to answer you, we need to know: Are you being deliberately obtuse, in a rhetorical sense?

Or are you really, honestly unable to grasp the analogy here?

Deregulation has EVERYTHING to do with “natural disasters”. Republican administrations, and Republicans in Congress staunchly support DEregulation that led to well, the BP disaster, shoddy work on the levees on the MIssissippi that led to flooding the Ninth Ward, poor or no”viable” land use or planning regulations (like promoting development in flood plains), and well “minimalizing” mine safety, or regulation on coal, biomass, or nuclear power plants. But hey, as long as you have an insurance company that will turn down your claim if anything happens to you, it’s just “truth, justice, and the American (corporate) way”, right?

Harley: “The analogy I grasp here is…That about cover it?”

Yes, Harley, you answered my question succinctly…you indeed are incapable of grasping the very simple analogy presented here.

The other posters have done a nice job of explaining it in detail for you.

Now all that remains is to see if you have the personal integrity to acknowledge them.

Harley: “Oh and your “government regulations” worked real well with Chernobyl right?”

Quite right. If the Russians had applied adequate regulations, then the Chernobyl disaster would not have happened, since it wasn’t due to any outside influences like the earthquake that hit Japan. But since they didn’t, well, you know the result.

See, you can grasp the concept when you put your mind to it.

Regulations?! Those are for commies!

And for the umpteenth time, Harley runs away with his tail between his legs.

I posted right after you did, Harley…2 days ago. No sense lying about it when it’s there for all to see.

And I did answer your question. Rather than acknowledge my answer, you just ignored it.

The Russians did not have adequate regulations in place for Chernobyl…a lesson lost on you.