The cost of remediation and opposition to regulatory red tape have become code for larger legal concerns. Business organizations have asked the Congress repeatedly to defer OSHA ergonomic rules. Tobacco and asbestos lawsuits breed vexing fear of other similar liabilities. No end to this decade-long struggle is yet in sight. Both major parties use the issue to fire up their constituencies and generate campaign contributions.
National productivity is trapped under the agonizing bombardment.
Unnecessary health costs result. Some victimize themselves. Almost no one looks beneficent, empathic, wise, caring, or humane. To resolve the conflict, victims and combatants need their own Camp David. Recent OSHA hearings did not reduce fears, ameliorate antagonism, or inspire the cooperative discovery of comprehensive solutions.