Thursday, September 16, 2004
A Modest Conservative Proposal
All right, I confess. I'm liberal, and I'm biased.
So sue me.
On the other hand, if you're a fan of President Bush, and his solution to almost everything, call one of your corporate buddies, have them do something to me, and then convince your friends in Congress to pass legislation immunizing the corporate suits from my subsequent frivolous lawsuit.
I'm amazed at my Republican friends in conservative parts of the country. I always thought that conservatism trumpeted the individual and individual rights. So why is it that the solution to all matters corporate under President Bush is to pass legislation lowering the taxes of corporations, thereby forcing the rest of us to shoulder the burden, and to further increase corporate profits by denying the rights of legitimate lawsuits to go forward.
If you think that Bush is really concerned about his so called frivolous lawsuit explosion, think again. Note that every one of his proposals to limit damages in personal injury lawsuits concern when a corporate special interest is on the line. Note that there has been no proposal to limit damages in automobile accident cases, in which the most likely defendant is an individual. He has, however, proposed limiting damages in actions against doctors, gun manufacturers, oil companies, tobacco companies and countless other special interest groups. He has also championed easing off on regulations that would keep corporations in line, ensure quality products, ensure that he truly stewards the environment, etc.
On that note, here's a truly conservative proposal, that in the finest conservative tradition, truly champions the rights of the individual, while ensuring in the long run that corporations don't get subject to "frivolous lawsuits".
Let's leave qualilty standards for corporations that have been previously established intact. In fact, let's make product standards more stringent. Let's make environmental standards that corporations must satisfy more stringent. This will force corporations to toe the line and manufacture products that are not dangerous. The better the product, the less likely any lawsuit will be filed. After all, even if a lawsuit is ultimately deemed frivolous, lawsuits don't start unless somebody rightly or wrongly thought they were injured in the first place. If they don't think they were hurt, they don't sue. By making the standards more consumer friendly, rather than the other way around, ultimately, the product becomes more consumer friendly, the individual is protected, and so is the corporation, when less litigation results. Bottom line -- happier individual, more profitable corporation.
How conservative.
So sue me.
On the other hand, if you're a fan of President Bush, and his solution to almost everything, call one of your corporate buddies, have them do something to me, and then convince your friends in Congress to pass legislation immunizing the corporate suits from my subsequent frivolous lawsuit.
I'm amazed at my Republican friends in conservative parts of the country. I always thought that conservatism trumpeted the individual and individual rights. So why is it that the solution to all matters corporate under President Bush is to pass legislation lowering the taxes of corporations, thereby forcing the rest of us to shoulder the burden, and to further increase corporate profits by denying the rights of legitimate lawsuits to go forward.
If you think that Bush is really concerned about his so called frivolous lawsuit explosion, think again. Note that every one of his proposals to limit damages in personal injury lawsuits concern when a corporate special interest is on the line. Note that there has been no proposal to limit damages in automobile accident cases, in which the most likely defendant is an individual. He has, however, proposed limiting damages in actions against doctors, gun manufacturers, oil companies, tobacco companies and countless other special interest groups. He has also championed easing off on regulations that would keep corporations in line, ensure quality products, ensure that he truly stewards the environment, etc.
On that note, here's a truly conservative proposal, that in the finest conservative tradition, truly champions the rights of the individual, while ensuring in the long run that corporations don't get subject to "frivolous lawsuits".
Let's leave qualilty standards for corporations that have been previously established intact. In fact, let's make product standards more stringent. Let's make environmental standards that corporations must satisfy more stringent. This will force corporations to toe the line and manufacture products that are not dangerous. The better the product, the less likely any lawsuit will be filed. After all, even if a lawsuit is ultimately deemed frivolous, lawsuits don't start unless somebody rightly or wrongly thought they were injured in the first place. If they don't think they were hurt, they don't sue. By making the standards more consumer friendly, rather than the other way around, ultimately, the product becomes more consumer friendly, the individual is protected, and so is the corporation, when less litigation results. Bottom line -- happier individual, more profitable corporation.
How conservative.
# posted by phg @ 3:52 PM 
