Consumer Law

Wisconsin?s New Fantasy Governor

By Joe Consumer

This week, Wisconsin?s new Governor Scott Walker laid out the details of his first bills to get the economy moving in Wisconsin and bring jobs back to the state.  Number one on the list? Take away the legal rights of injured people!   Wow, that should really get the economic recovery going! 

In fact, in keeping with the spirit of Wisconsin?s new state government (which flipped from Democratic to Republican this last election), I have a song recommendation.  It?s Radiohead's ?In Limbo? (listen here), which has one very predominant lyric: ?You're living in a fantasy.? As in:

I'm lost at sea
Don't bother me
I've lost my way
I've lost my way
You're living in a fantasy

Here?s what I mean.  His idea is to bring jobs to Wisconsin by making sure that if your mom or grandma is abused or neglected in a nursing home, your ability to be compensated is severely limited and the nursing home is less accountable. 

Other proposals weaken the accountability of the worst of the worst corporate wrongdoers in Wisconsin? the ones who should be liable for punitive damages, but no longer will be thanks to the Governor?s plan.

For those of us living in the real world, here?s an important thing to remember.  If corporate wrongdoers can?t be sued, they?ll become more dangerous.  That?s what happens.  Laws like this won?t bring back jobs or even keep them.  Just look at Michigan. Several years ago Michigan decided to completely immunize drug companies that produce unsafe drugs.  The business lobbies argued they needed the law to encourage drug companies to stay in Michigan.  No other state has such a law.  No sooner did the law pass than pharmaceutical jobs started leaving Michigan by the hundreds.

In 2005, the Economic Policy Institute (?EPI?) released a study debunking common myths about the costs of the legal system and its burden on consumers. According to EPI,

There is no historical correlation between the inflated estimates of the costs of the tort system and corporate profits, product quality, productivity, or research and development (R&D) spending. Evidence suggests that the tort system, without the proposed restrictions, has actually been beneficial to the economy in all these areas. ? [Moreover], significant tort law change would be more likely to slow employment growth than to promote it. Endlessly repeating that so-called ?tort reform? will create jobs does not make it true.

Except, of course, if you?re living in a fantasy.

Full post as published by ThePopTort on January 06, 2011 (boomark / email).