Cause and Effect In Mine Disaster

So if government is small enough to drown in a bathtub, nothing bad will happen to us? Think Three Mile Island, folks.


Think Progress Mine Inspectors Questioned Administration's Commitment To Mine Safety:

"The Labor Department denies that budget cuts and staff reductions under President Bush have hindered the ability of the department's Mine Safety and Health Administration to ensure coal-mine safety. But Jack Spadaro, a former mine safety investigator, claims that mine inspectors raised concerns before Sago about the disastrous consequences that might result from the Labor Department's unwillingness to enforce safety regulations:

Jack Spadaro, former director of the MSHA National Mine Safety Academy, said inspectors told him privately that Labor Department opposition to vigorous safety regulation has hindered their work.

Two weeks before this explosion, I was told by an inspector, "Jack, there's going to be another disaster because we can't do our jobs," he said in an interview.
The MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) should question Spadaro as part of its investigation.

This is not to suggest the administration's budget cuts caused the West Virginia accident, nor is it the president's fault that an explosion occurred. But there is a legitimate question as to whether future mining accidents can be prevented through greater enforcement of mining safety regulations and whether the Bush administration is doing all it can in this area."