WSJ Weighs In on Mine-Safety Rhetoric
Covered several times already, but another influential voice (requires subscription) comes in handy right about now:
Strip-Mining the Facts
….. There are certainly many unanswered questions about this mine explosion — including why it took rescuers so long to reach the trapped miners — and we await the results of the investigation. But some highly relevant facts are also never reported: that in previous years the Bush Administration had called for an increase in fines for “egregious safety violations” to $220,000 from $60,000; or that the Mine Safety and Health Administration had closed portions of the Sago Mine that had been deemed hazardous.
Even more illuminating, there were 60% more mine injuries per year during the Clinton Presidency (6,500) than there have been in Mr. Bush’s (4,100). The number of mine deaths per year has fallen to an average of 31 under Mr. Bush from an average of 39 under Mr. Clinton. Compare the number of fines with the number of accidents, and you see that the number of fines per accident has actually risen sharply under Mr. Bush.
We know Bush hatred runs hot these days, and we’re all for whacking public officials when they deserve it. But when journalists purport to inform readers about mining safety and regulation, they shouldn’t attempt to strip-mine the facts.
