Where corporate 'terrorism' is welcomed

The mess that is left of West, Texas

The same week that three innocent people were blown to bits in Boston, another 14 were incinerated in Texas.

In one place, Islamic terrorism was to blame. In the other, corporate culpability was the culprit.

In Massachusetts, an open society that welcomes all races and religions is now left to question where it went wrong.

In Texas, a paranoid culture of anti-government sentiments is merely reinforced when the town of West is blown to bits, thanks, in no small measure, to anti-government attitudes.

A New York Times article shows that distrust of government is more important in Texas than the death of one person, let alone 14. Oh, and about 200 were injured when a fertilizer plant blew up there, due, in no small measure, to a lack of government oversight.

Here are a couple of key paragraphs from the NYT's story:

"Texas has always prided itself on its free-market posture. It is the only state that does not require companies to contribute to workers’ compensation coverage. It boasts the largest city in the country, Houston, with no zoning laws. It does not have a state fire code, and it prohibits smaller counties from having such codes. Some Texas counties even cite the lack of local fire codes as a reason for companies to move there.

"But Texas has also had the nation’s highest number of workplace fatalities — more than 400 annually — for much of the past decade. Fires and explosions at Texas’ more than 1,300 chemical and industrial plants have cost as much in property damage as those in all the other states combined for the five years ending in May 2012."

Now, if you're a worker in such fields, you may want to think twice about relocating to Texas.

If you're a corporation, though, Texas would be the place to set up shop. Better look out Bangladesh, Texas may want your garment factory jobs.

To any corporation, 14 worker deaths are worth less than one regulation. More than 400  fatalities annually is merely the cost of doing business in this day and age, a corporation would argue. Otherwise, the Islamic terrorists win.

Actually, more Americans die each year in Texas due to corporate "terrorism" than to any Islamic belief, be it Sunni or Shia.

The economic "miracle" of Texas sure is something.

There's a reason no one messes with Texas. It's a mess all to itself.