Rotten eggs: Deregulation isn't the only problem.

On a Facebook page, someone asked, "Are food-borne illness outbreaks increasing?" and someone wrote, "YES! All of Bush's deregulation is coming back to haunt us!"

The thing is, deregulation isn't the only problem (although I agree it's part of it), but sidestepping the law time and time again is an even bigger problem. For instance, WHY hasn't Jack DeCoster been put in jail? Why is he still in business? He's a well-documented habitual offender and the latest egg recall comes directly from his sleazy operations. 

Why? Because he's rich. He bought his way out of everything from animal cruelty to unsafe working conditions to filthy factory farms to hiring illegal immigrants (and housing them like his chickens with feces-laden water to drink) to rape and sexual harassment by his managers.

He simply pays the fines or settles out of court. These fines are the cost of doing business for this guy.

And so he continues doing what he does and, to date, over 1300 people have been affected by this salmonella outbreak.

It's not the failure of regulations. The regulations are there. The problem is that the government is unable to enforce them, and the government is far too complacent. To me, the question should be, "With all these regulations in place, why is this guy still in business? Who weakened the penalties to the point where fines are simply a business expense?"

Google Jack DeCoster's name. You'll see.

dKosopedia

Teflon Chicken Don Agrees to Cruelty Plea

Wright County Egg Recall