Asbestos and corporate welfare

[Spexvet]

The legislation sought to remove asbestos injury claims from years of court litigation and pay them from a $140 billion fund financed by asbestos companies and their insurers. That approach is favored by W.R. Grace and Co., USG Corp. and some of the 70 other companies pushed into bankruptcy by tens of thousands of asbestos injury claims.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/15/news...asbestos.reut/

So a corporation makes lots of profit from selling asbestos, saves money by not protecting its workers from the dangers of asbestos, and then, when asked to accept reponsibility for its actions, endorses a plan that would make every tax payer pony up for the consequences of said company's actions.

This is the kind of money the government doesn't need to spend. Stay away from cutting healthcare programs and just make rich folks and corporate America accept their fiscal responsibilities!

[Blake]

"So a corporation makes lots of profit from selling asbestos, saves money by not protecting its workers from the dangers of asbestos, and then, when asked to accept reponsibility for its actions, endorses a plan that would make every tax payer pony up for the consequences of said company's actions."

No...

"The legislation sought to remove asbestos injury claims from years of court litigation and pay them from a $140 billion fund financed by asbestos companies and their insurers."

It's basically an out-of-court settlement, which I'm not sure Congress has the authority to approve. In theory it won't cost taxpayers a dime, but when has any gov't program fulfilled that promise?