I read Savannah Steve's searing remarks about OSHA, and while I am
sympathetic to the cause, I would place the blame elsewhere.

First of all, who among us is really shocked--SHOCKED!!-- to learn
that there are government employees who are either too lazy to do
their jobs properly or who are being prevented from doing their jobs
properly due to political pressures from above?

Second, just recently, wasn't it the consensus on this listserv that a
person working for the State of Mississippi who suspected his boss of
wrongdoing should shut up, eat crap and keep his job? My comment was
and is that we deserve the system we get. If nobody sticks their neck
out to fight when something is wrong, there are terrible
repercussions. Just look at our headlines in 2002. The stock market
frauds represent a looting of America by well-connected folks who paid
to get rules rewritten in their interest at the expense of the public
interest. If the public doesn't squawk, nothing will be changed. If we
are individually lazy and allow them to feed us crap, crap will most
certainly be the only item on the menu.

Finally, a bit of balance from an employer's perspective. OSHA can be
and should an agency protecting the safety and health of employees,
but should not be punishing every employer for the malfeasance of a
few rotten ones. There is an ideal balance to beachieved between
protecting workers and not encumbering employers, particularly small
employers, with tremendous amounts of paperwork. In our dealings with
OSHA to date, we have found them reasonable. They have addressed
specific questions with clarity and focus and we were able to respond
in kind.

The listserv may be shocked -- SHOCKED!! -- to learn that there are
also government employees who do their jobs well and are able to
maintain the balanced perspective which is the stated policy of their
agency.

Edison Coatings, Inc.
M. P. Edison
President
3 Northwest Drive
Plainville, CT 06062  USA
Phone: (860)747-2220
Fax: (860)747-2280
email: [log in to unmask]
Internet: www.edisoncoatings.com

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