Trigger
It has been in the news again lately about coal mine workers in West Virginia afflicted by this terrible disease (a.k.a. coalworker's pneumoconiosis
). Should we be compassionate?
Of course, what else do you expect, big government intervened in form of the U.S. Labor Department (see e.g. here).
Money Trail
According to Wikipedia on this subject, labor unions were more interested in making money off the disease than preventing it.
Some questions:
- I would assume that coal mine workers have well known of this disease for decades if not for centuries.
To quote Encyclopedia Britannica on this subject: “Georgius Agricola, a German mineralogist, first described lung disease in coal miners in the 16th century, and it is now widely recognized.” (source) - Was the pay that good to risk your health in this profession by doing it for life?
- Would not a rational person perhaps have worked for a few years in this profession and then moved on with the savings? I believe to remember some people have actually exactly done that.
- Have coal mine workers known of how the company they worked for complies with safety standards etc.? Why would I work for a company if I consider it unsafe to my health? Was the pay to good to pass up?
- Did current coal mine workers stay on the job for life despite the known health risks hoping to collect huge payoffs later through government enforced compensation?
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