Jobs vs. Health

In a nation with so few industrial jobs remaining, in a nation that has ignored the plight of working class people without college educations, and in a nation where a robust welfare state is the provenance of slackers and those people, it’s hardly surprising that workers are willing to get sick in order to keep their jobs. It would be nice if we had the economic choices that they would not have to do that. But here we are. If DuPont leaves its incredibly poisonous Parkersburg, West Virginia, the town dies. If it doesn’t, the people die. I’ve discussed how DuPont has poisoned the people of this area a few times. People know this is how it goes. They either just shrug their shoulders or they deny the evidence and say that the company has no fault or they turn to God or they curse the companies but need the paycheck. American policymakers and corporate leaders give working class people no good choices.