The End of American Hegemony is Now on the Horizon

It's difficult to predict whether that end still is a long way off or will happen somewhat quickly...too many variables.  Nevertheless, it is finally visible.  Despite what Oligarchs and those who are propagandized to the hilt may think, the approaching end of the USA's worldwide hegemony is a good thing.

A few years ago the results of either a Gallup or Pew Research Poll (can't recall which) indicated that 80% of the world believed the greatest threat to peace was the USA.  I suppose our Bully Boy, Reality Show, Tweety Bird, Ignoramus, Oval Office Occupier would call those results "fake news"; but then, everything he disagrees with is so named by him. 

China, the rest of Asia (including India), Russia, Iran, large parts of South America (especially Brazil), South Africa, and now even Saudi Arabia, are so fed up with our Govt's HEGEMONY that they are waging an unprecedented economic/financial war on the USA.  They have a good chance of winning it.  First came South America's rejection of our Govt's longstanding policy of Neocolonialism relative to them.  Next was BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, & S. Africa) and their financial revolt, and just recently, we have the PetroYuan...essentially backed by gold.  Finally, beaucoup countries are allowing escape from the "almighty" Dollar via cryptocurrencies.  Dollar-dumping is rife in many, many countries.

We live in interesting times--- we are witnessing the beginning of the end of American Hegemony... especially monetary/financial hegemony.  Our Gov't and its Mega Bank Cronies will do anything legal or illegal to prevent that end.  It all hearkens back to Manifest Destiny and the crimes committed under that "justification".  The main difference between then & now is that our Empire is no longer land-based.  It's now based on control via threats of force, both monetary/financial/economic force and military force.  Most of it is illegal, immoral, unethical, and unconstitutional.

Starting a war won't prevent the end of our hegemony; it only might postpone it.

The Constitutional Republic of the USA is now in name only.  These days, we live in a Fascist State.  According to both FDR & Mussolini, Fascism = the Power of the State married to the Power of BIG Business.  Undeniably, that's the U.S. Gov't both for quite a number of years and presently.

The days of genuine American Conservatism (a big part of which was non-interventionism abroad and non-speculative banking at home) AND genuine American Progressivism (a big part of which was a safety net for the most vulnerable and fairness for all) are mostly gone...long gone.

And so it goes.  

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Fake President Blunders On...and Other Disasters

In his search for only "Yes" men/women, Trump has reached a new height in the promotion of warmongering via his replacing of McMaster with the gruesome John Bolton.  Even a casual perusal of Bolton's history is enough to scare the bejesus out of you.  He must be the most uptight, anal-retentive, control freak in the whole country.  The man seems to love the idea of killing people, whether it's most everyone in North Korea...or Chelsea Manning.
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A few days ago, the Chinese launched their Yuan-denominated oil futures contracts in Shanghai.  China is the world's largest importer of crude oil.  This is the start of the decline of the PetroDollar.  Plus, the whole business will add greatly to the already edging-up, price inflation in the USA.

Add to the above the fact that hundreds of major stores are closing their doors for good here, unemployment is more than double what Trump's Executive Branch and the Corporate Media claim it is, income inequality has reached a record high, worker wages have increased so minimally that they still essentially are "flat", the Bond Market is collapsing, a Trade War is developing with China, and the Stock Market recently has experienced "corrections".  Does all this sound good to anyone?  I think not.

Keep in mind that the Great Depression of the 1930's (which lasted about ten years) was not so named until halfway through it.  For quite awhile, everyone thought it was a temporary, soon-to-end glitch of some sort.
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Porter Stansberry, who owns Stansberry Research (a financial analysis publishing company with almost 500 employees), claims that wages are no longer connected to productivity in the USA.  According to him, that's the main reason for the gross "income inequality" in this country.  Stansberry is controversial, and I don't know if he's an expert in the financial field or not; however, on this particular point, I believe he's correct.  Worker productivity has increased quite a bit in the last three to four decades, but wages barely have kept up with price inflation.  People essentially are being forced to work harder, sometimes at two different jobs, but they aren't being properly rewarded for it.  I suspect that's one of the main reasons (perhaps the main reason) for much of the discontent in this great Land.  The upper 10% of The People own 75% of the wealth here.  Go figure.
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Zuckerberg's supposed concern about Facebook users' privacy is laughable.  The whole Facebook set-up is designed to harvest and sell your private information.  At least, that seems to be the case.  Delete Facebook.  Be aware, though, it will take weeks to get yourself off that site...literally, weeks.
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Why is Equifax still in business?  After their unmitigated disaster involving millions & millions of SS numbers, plus the theft of their own employees' tax info, they should have been boycotted by everyone.  Those of you who check people's credit, don't use Equifax.  There's no law that says you must.  Those of you who are subject to credit checks, tell the entity doing the checking that nothing of yours should be sent to that company.  Why should you risk the theft of your identity?  Do you have any idea how long it takes to straighten out a mess such as that?  Never mind the cost.
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The Second Amendment nowhere guarantees that citizens can possess any type of firearm they so desire with only minimal regulations informing that scenario.  The purpose of the Amendment was to allow citizens to "keep & bear Arms" in order for the country to have a "WELL REGULATED militia".  That's a direct quote:  "...well regulated...".

These slaughters in schools (and elsewhere) have to end.  A citizen not in the military should be banned from possessing a weapon of war...and that includes assault rifles.  You don't need one of those to go deer hunting or target shooting.  Assault rifles are for killing people.

To be clear, I'm an owner of a firearm...but it's not a weapon of war.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Trump Corporatist Fiasco Continues

1.  In the past year, our National Debt has increased by one trillion dollars; it now stands at just a smidgen away from $21 trillion.  I imagine that's one of the factors which caused the IMF to launch a ten-year program to replace the Dollar as the world's reserve currency.  I recall creating and later sending a petition of concern to selected members of Congress in late 2003 or early 2004.  It was about our National Debt; at the time, the Debt was $6.8 trillion.

2.  We're now closer to nuclear war than at any time since the end of the old Cold War.  The Powers-That-Be now even believe that the use of "tactical" nukes is possible without any significant, long-term, negative effects on Life.  Today's nuclear nations (especially Trump's USA) continue to promote the idea that nuke weapons should not exist in any country...except theirs.  It's long past the time when no nation should have nuclear weapons.

3.  Our Bubble economy continues.  Despite propaganda to the contrary, it's getting worse under Trump's Corporatist, Government-Sachs Administration.

4.  Environmental/Health/Safety regulations are being rolled back by the anti-Science Trumpistas on an unprecedented scale.  They live in an artificial world, apparently have had little to no education in the natural sciences, so it's no wonder they seemingly can't grasp the interconnectedness of living things and their habitats...including those of humans.  The same thing is happening with regulations in the Financial Sector.  The foxes now are guarding the hen house, the hen house being We the People.  The transfer of wealth to the Upper Crust is being made easier.  The Middle Class continues to shrink; it's now less than 50% of our population.

5.  With the firing of Tillerson, the only person in the whole Trump Crew who had a bit of statesmanship in him, the Don's White House most likely has surpassed all others for Staff turnover in the first fourteen months or so.  Not a stable situation.  The only thing consistent about the Trump Outfit is that they're all scientifically illiterate, and they're Corporatists, Warmongers, supporters of torture, supporters of failed economic & fiscal policy, & Super-Rich.  Never mind that they're violators of their Oath of Office..."...preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States...".  The really bad news is that Trump's choice for a replacement each time there's a Staff turnover is even worse in terms of Corporatism, Warmongering, etc.  They're like a bunch of spoiled, ignorant children.

6.  Though a bit less, probably so because of the approaching Mid-Term elections, Trump's gaslighting & lying continue.  He comes out with outrageous claims and bald-faced lies...most likely to distract people from his many troubles.
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It's mind-boggling that Trump ever got into the highest political office in this Land in the first place, and that he hasn't yet been kicked out.  That's the truly amazing part of it all.  Welcome to the Evil of Two Lessers.  In the USA, Propaganda reigns supreme...again.

Though there are obvious differences, the entire political scenario in the USA today is eerily similar to that of Germany in 1933.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well
p.s.  For any new readers here, no, I'm not a Democrat...or a Republican.

Claiming We're in an Economic Recovery is Absurd

Nevertheless, that's what the Corporate Media, the Fed Reserve, DC politicians, and the rest of the Establishment are doing.  It goes back to the last part of the Obama Era, and now includes Trump & Crew.  Let's examine several of the reasons why such a claim is absolutely false...at least, false when it comes to the overwhelming majority of Americans.  Not all, but much of the info below is taken from the U.S. National Debt Clock... usdebtclock.org

[NOTE:  Number 1 below was edited on 2-24-18.  Number 3 was edited 3-14-18...the amount of our National Debt, now just a hair away from $21 trillion.]
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1.  The current median income for individual workers is $31,654 per year; in the year 2000, it was $31,229.  Wow, what a booming increase... not.  For those who may have forgotten parts of their old math & statistics courses, "median" gives a better sense of things than does "average".  With "average", the millionaires & billionaires skew the results.  When we use "median income", that means half the workers make less than $31K+change.  HALF.  There was a time when $31K/year was a decent income; that's long gone.

2.  The current number of unemployed is more than double the number claimed by the Feds/Trump.  [See the piece/post immediately prior to this one... and the Debt Clock.]

3.  The National Debt was $2.6 trillion in 1988, and the Debt to GDP ratio was 49%.  Currently, the National Debt is $20.96 trillion (edited 3-14-18), and the Debt to GDP ratio is about 105% (the last number is for 2017).  [In 1980, our National Debt was only $906 billion, not even one trillion.  The Reagan Era more than doubled that number.]  The point being:  these numbers are a major reason for the world losing confidence in the Dollar... with fiat currency having no intrinsic worth, the only reason people value it is because of confidence.  Trump & Crew are well on their way to increasing the National Debt by trillions more.  Don't believe the Propaganda that all will balance out because of increased jobs resulting in more income tax revenue.  Reagan said the same thing, but the Debt almost tripled.

4.  The IMF has launched a ten-year program/plan that will replace the Dollar as the world's reserve currency.  The negative impact on our economy will be significant.

5.  The Establishment touts the claim that wages have risen 2.9%.  [I don't recall over what time span.]  Never mind about half of that is lost to the hidden tax known as price inflation.  With the current median income (see number 1 above), the increase comes to $76 per month... not too exciting.  With the minimum wage, the increase comes to 21 cents per hour... appreciated, I imagine, but not cause for celebration.

6.  Toward the end of March (next month),  several countries will start accepting Chinese Yuan in exchange for oil.  That will be the beginning of the end for the almighty PetroDollar.  Within a very short time, the Bretton Woods international monetary system will be no more.  The Dollar will suffer significantly; because of increased inflation, it will lose even more of its purchasing power than it already has lost.

7.  The overall worldwide Debt Bubble (public & private debt) is at a record high level.  All financial bubbles burst; in all of history, there hasn't been one that didn't.  The Debt Bubble dwarfs all the others; that's true even if only public debt is considered.

8.  The U.S. Bond Market is collapsing.  It's not the only one in the world doing so.  Bond markets collapse because of approaching insolvency... at least, that's one of the major reasons.

9.  Bizarre financial derivatives still are running at full speed.  They have only window dressing restraints from the Feds.

10.  When the Establishment reveals the monthly Jobs Report, it never gives important details:  how many of those jobs are minimum wage, and/or part-time, and/or temporary?  Currently, there are over 27 million part-time workers in the USA.  The Debt Clock doesn't indicate how many of those would prefer a full-time job... but I suspect that most would.

11.  Trump & Crew are making it easier for the Fed and Mega Banks to transfer wealth from the majority of Americans to those in the Upper Crust.

12.  In general, the permanent Tax Cut gift given to the Rich by Trump & Congress will not result in capital expansion of business enterprises.  The Rich and Super-Rich will put those tax break savings elsewhere.  I suspect every one of them knows that a Crash is coming... and that it's unavoidable.  Their primary concern is to protect their families & their wealth.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Real "State of the Union" Rather Than the Don's Version

Isn't it incredible how Trump said that the Govt's unemployment, inflation, GDP, etc. numbers were all false just before he took office, but not long after he was sworn in, those numbers were all correct.  Plus, he's now claiming that the supposed "recovery" we're in is all due to his Administration's actions in the past year.  What he expects people to believe never ceases to amaze me.  The Corporate Media are every bit as bad in that respect as is Trump.  Let's take a brief look at how things really are in this great Land.
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1.   Unemployment---

The Feds have six measures of the unemployment rate and they label them U-1 through U-6.  U-3 is the one used as the "official unemployment rate".  Currently, that rate is 4.1%...but, there's a problem.   U-3 tends to underestimate the “true” extent of unemployment because those who have been unemployed and have given up on finding another job, or those who haven’t searched for a job recently, are not included in this category.

U-6 is closer to the truth.  This number measures not just the unemployed, but also those who would like to work full-time but are stuck with part-time and/or temporary work.  They are barely scraping by.  Since the Crash of 2008, U-6 has been (to varying degrees) over 11%...but, again there's a problem.  U-6 also is incomplete.  It excludes the long-term unemployed, those who have been out of the workforce for a year or more, have not searched for work in the most recent year, but would still like a job.  Many (probably most) of those people are so down and depressed that they've given up the search.

The point here is that the "official unemployment rate" is always incomplete.  The real rate is at least double, and usually higher than that.  Currently, if we use U-6 (which is more accurate, but still incomplete) the true rate of unemployment in the USA is somewhere in the double digits.  The Feds and the Corporate Media always promote the lower U-3 number.  If Trump were really a "rebel", he'd tell the truth; but he's a member of The Establishment.  The only difference between him and the rest of them is that he's unimaginably crass...ignorant, boorish, thoughtless, blundering, and tactless. 

2.  Inflation---

For many years, there has been a huge problem with the measurement of price inflation.  The Feds use something called "core inflation", which excludes the price changes in food and energy.  Hello...those are a fair-sized chunk of most peoples' expenses.  Years & years ago, food and energy were included.  Then the Feds decided that those commodities were too "volatile" to give an accurate picture.  Right.  So now we're stuck with an inaccurate measurement... usually a number that is way too low.

In addition, the Gov't does not include asset inflation...over-valued stocks, over-valued houses, etc.  Currently, both the Stock Market and the Housing Market are in giant Bubbles.  Today, stocks are more over-valued than they were in 2008... or even in 1929.

3.  Bizarre Derivatives---  

Because of a continuing lack of comprehensive Fed regulations & oversight, bizarre Financial Derivatives (such as credit default swaps, CDOs, synthetic CDOs, bespoke tranches, etc.) still threaten our economy & finances, as well as those of the entire world.  While it's true that the number & value of such derivatives most likely has been reduced, the amount still out in the Market is horrendous.  It's difficult to know the exact number because these are private contracts between Casino Capitalists.  Best estimates of analysts as to the amounts in the Market just before the 2008 Crash and now are:  about $1.4 quadrillion, and about  $700 trillion.  $700 trillion is way above the entire world's GDP...which is about $76 trillion.  Derivatives still have a high potential to crash the world.  And yet, there are no serious regulations to prevent that.

Not only are Crony/Casino Capitalists (not genuine Capitalists) still to some degree or another creating bizarre derivatives related to mortgages, but now they're doing the same with car loans and housing rent receipts.  The whole business is just plain nuts...and extremely dangerous.

4.  Stock Buy-Backs---

One reason the Stock Market is so over-valued is because many Corporations are buying back their own stocks.  That falsely inflates their value.  I suspect that will increase now that Trump & Congress have given the Upper Crust an immense, permanent Tax Cut.  [The rest of America received a much lesser temporary Tax Cut.]

5.  The Dollar---

Jim Rickards holds a degree in International Economics, he's an attorney, a former consultant to the CIA and Pentagon on economic matters, and a NYT best-selling author...twice.  According to him and his contacts, the IMF has launched a ten-year plan to replace the Dollar as the world's reserve currency.  Ultimately, that will be extremely bad news for our economy.  The way Trump alienates allies & trade partners, the situation will be even worse.

6.  Infrastructure---

According to the top Civil Engineers, our infrastructure is in dire need of repair/replacement.  During his election campaign, Trump announced he would get Congress to institute a big Infrastructure Program.  Where is it?  He's been in office over a year, already added (he and Congress) a potential one trillion dollars to our insane National Debt, but there's no Program...not even meetings about it.  Meanwhile, our bridges continue to rust, rot, & crumble, our trains run off the tracks, and our roads & highways continue to fall apart.  Not all of them at once, but still...it's a serious problem, and it's killing people.

7.  War & Nukes---

Sometime during the last ten years or so, and right up through the present day, the Powers-That-Be convinced each other that nuclear weapons actually can be used in warfare.  They justify such thinking by telling each other (and us, indirectly) that the weapons will be smaller, "tactical" nukes.  In their minds, that means it's feasible...with no serious, long-term effects.  This is unmitigated insanity.  What they apparently don't understand is that any such use of nukes would be a dangerous experiment with likely disastrous results.

The Obama Administration launched the ten-year Program designed to create these "tactical" nukes, but Trump is exacerbating the situation with his utter ignorance of science and statesmanship.  Not only the people of the USA, but the entire world as well should be protesting this idea in a massive way.

8.  Climate Change and Other Environmental/Health/Safety (EHS) Issues---

Trump & Crew are bound and determined to tear down Fed Gov't Regulations; they've already started that.  Those Regs are not just in the Business arena, but also in the EHS world.  I worked in the field of EHS regulatory compliance for several years, and I'll be the first to admit that some of those Regs are overlapping and need to be tweaked or even eliminated.  A few are not necessary, but most of them (the overwhelming majority) are necessary.  Without them, we'll have more pollution, sickness, injuries, and premature death.

Regarding Climate Change, there are too many variables in that scenario to say that human activity (mainly the generation of greenhouse gases) is the only cause of what's going on; however, there's plenty of evidence to state with certainty that human activity is contributing to the problem...most likely in a major way.  Given that, it makes sense to address the problem of greenhouse gases.  Because Corporation Powers consider such things to be "negative externalities", the only way to address the problem is through Regulations.

As to the Business world, and using only one example, does anyone seriously believe that the Financial Sector doesn't need to be regulated?  I hope no one believes that.

My point under this subtopic is simple:  things are not good, and getting worse every day.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Corporatist Oligarchs Have Bamboozled the People

Knowing how I believe that few, if any, differences exist between Repubs and Dems (at the highest levels of politics), a CA friend sent me an email showing what he believes are some of the differences.  He ended by asking if I knew of any Repub in favor of the $15 minimum wage.  My response (slightly edited) is found below.

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Not 100% sure, but I think Senator Susan Collins is for $15 per hour.  Many other Repubs AND many Dems are for a raise to $10 - $12, rather than $15.  [Side Note:  In only a two-person household in 1992, I was making $15 an hour...

and barely scraping by back then.  $15/hour is almost nothing nowadays.]

But none of that proves anything; it's like not seeing the forest because of individual trees.  In general, & in the larger scope of things, today's major Parties both are dictatorial in their running of each Party and they're both Corporatist in nature.  They both marginalize any truly Populist candidates, and they kow-tow to Wall Street.

In my opinion, the whole current Repub v. Dem thing is a complete sham...a Divide & Conquer strategy by Oligarchs.  That wasn't true in the past, but it is now.  No one ever will convince me otherwise.  The last genuine Populist to run for national office was George McGovern in 1972.  Sanders is better than most, but I think his attitude toward things like Drone Wars & Foreign Policy in general, stinks.  Even Rand Paul, a blatant Corporatist, has a better Foreign Policy view than Sanders.  Paul is much more of a non-interventionist than almost anyone in DC.  He has been marginalized almost totally because of it.  The same thing happened to Dennis Kucinich on the Dem side.  

Both Dems & Repubs in the top slots want American Hegemony to continue forever.  They all believe we should be the world's Police Force.  Forget about the U.S. Constitution and International Law.  According to the Republicrats & the Demopublicans, the U.S. Gov't can order the overthrow of any Gov't, change any regime, place sanctions on any country, and bomb any nation it so chooses.  It's insanity. 

No-Sir, in the big picture, there's hardly any difference at all between Dems & Repubs at the highest levels when it comes to really significant issues.  In the rare cases when there is a difference on a significant issue, it's usually because one or the other has given in to overwhelming popular protest...but their core, Corporatist beliefs have not changed.  Politicians are sleazy & deceitful that way.

That's how I see it, anyway.  Forty years ago, things were different... but not anymore.  The political paradigm has changed completely.  Unfortunately, most Americans seem to be stuck in the old paradigm of Repubs v. Dems, Right v. Left, etc.  That exists in name only... and is a testament to how thoroughly the Oligarchs have bamboozled the People.

As I've said many times, the new political paradigm is:  the Oligarchy v. the rest of us.  In socioeconomic terms, the Lower Class is growing larger, the Middle Class is shrinking, and the Upper class has increased its income by 700% in the last 30 years.  The two major political Parties are no longer relevant... except as Edward Bernays style Propaganda.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Nukes, Dow Chemical, Rockwell International, Teflon, DuPont, Regulations, and the Trump Crew

Preface---
As a reminder, one of my few areas of expertise is environmental regulatory compliance (expertise both academic & "in the field") and HazMat & HazWaste inspections of relevant facilities.  Years ago, I worked for both public and private institutions in these areas.  The essay below will illustrate why the Trump Administration's gutting of environmental and health & safety agencies and their regulations ultimately will prove to be disastrous.
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For almost two decades just prior to 1975, Dow Chemical---a private contractor---operated the Atomic Energy Commission's Rocky Flats bomb factory in Colorado.  Because of Dow's improper storage of thousands of drums of oil contaminated with plutonium, those drums corroded and leaked plutonium into the soil, water, and air.  Dow also "disposed" of contaminated water by spraying it on fields surrounding the facility...claiming that was "irrigation".  A Whistleblower by the name of James Stone brought this all to light, and of course, he was fired or forced to resign.  In 1975, a new Gov't Department took over and a different contractor was hired.

Throughout the 1980's and culminating (in 1989) in an FBI raid on the Department of Energy (DOE) Rocky Flats nuclear bomb manufacturing facility, Rockwell International (the other private contractor) was illegally disposing of hazardous waste contaminated with plutonium.  Plutonium has a half-life of 24,000 years and is considered by many to be the most toxic substance on Earth.

The illegal disposal resulted in plutonium contaminating not only soil, but the air, the groundwater, and surface streams as well.  Over 60 pounds of the toxic substance were found to have accumulated in the ductworks of just one building of the plant.  The US EPA and the Colorado Dept. of Health both were prohibited by DOE from inspecting the key areas of the entire facility.  "National Security".  Meanwhile, plutonium was contaminating the air, soil, and streams that wound up in drinking water reservoirs.  Eventually, DOE succumbed to pressure and submitted a huge Report detailing the hazardous waste and what was done with it.  The FBI studied all 27 volumes of the Report, and even took water samples just offsite of Rocky Flats.  That all led to the raid on the facility...one Agency raiding another.

There's more to the story, going into the 1990's, but I have to move on to the next topic.  If interested, go to YouTube and do a Search for "Rocky Flats"; you'll find several documentaries or clips.  In particular, look for Frontline's--- Rocky Flats Secrets of a Bomb Factory.
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Decades and decades ago, DuPont Chemical introduced teflon, the non-stick coating for cookware.  The chemicals in teflon also became incorporated into many other consumer items, such as water resistant fabric, stain resistant carpet, dental floss, microwave popcorn bags, fast food wrappers, and others.  DuPont kept a crucial secret from consumers regarding those chemical ingredients:  they are highly toxic, and eventually became linked to six different diseases, including kidney cancer.  For years, DuPont discharged wastes containing those chemicals into the waterways adjacent to their manufacturing facilities in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

People began to notice health problems in the area such as cancer and liver disease.  There was a question, too, of birth defects.  Plus, over 150 cattle died of some strange, blood hemorrhaging condition.  Suspicions were high that DuPont manufacturing activities might be linked to those health problems.  Some residents of Parkersburg, former DuPont employees, a cattle farmer, and lawyers launched what turned out to be a 17-year effort to find out the truth of the matter.  The attorney, Rob Bilott, was especially instrumental in bringing a class action lawsuit against DuPont.

In addition to discharging waste into waterways, DuPont buried seven thousand tons of contaminated waste in a nearby landfill.  Later, it was discovered that the teflon chemicals were in the drinking water of the region.

It's estimated that 99% of Americans have these chemicals in our bodies, and most of the population of the rest of the world as well.  That's because the waste also was discharged to the air until 2013; DuPont finally stopped manufacturing the substances during that year.

For the full story, see the Democracy Now news broadcast for January 23, 2018, democracynow.org
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The point of all the above is that EHS (environmental/health/safety) matters are considered "externalities" by most mega corporations.  In other words, those matters don't count; generally, big companies don't give a damn about them.  Yes, they TALK a great game, and a very few may even actually be sincere, but generally the reality is much different.  The Big Boys mostly have to be forced to care...or at least act as if they do.  That's done by regulations, and enforcement of those regs.  Without that, we'll have even more pollution, disease, birth defects, poisoning, and negative impact on 99% of our population.  That's precisely what Trump & Crew are promulgating with their gutting of EHS agencies and regulations.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well