I’m more worried about the fact that it was allowed for so long. Sure, we’re doing the right thing by quitting PFAS and starting major cleanup efforts.
But the system existed where people were incredibly negligent for years, knew they were hurting people, made boatloads of money, and retired. That same system exists in many oil-and-gas industries, drug marketing, and more. There are dozens of examples where this has happened in recent years, and that’s just the ones at large enough scale to be prosecuted.
It’s still happening to this day. How do we start treating intentional negligence that leads to mass suffering and death as seriously as murder? It is individuals making these decisions, and they need to be held personally liable.
The corporate veil is useful, and shouldn’t go away completely. But when an individual makes a decision that had a high probability of doing major harm, they should at least stop and raise the issue to a government agency, to limit their liability. If they do not take appropriate precautions, like getting explicit approval from government authorities, then they should be personally liable for the negligence.
But the system existed where people were incredibly negligent for years, knew they were hurting people, made boatloads of money, and retired. That same system exists in many oil-and-gas industries, drug marketing, and more. There are dozens of examples where this has happened in recent years, and that’s just the ones at large enough scale to be prosecuted.
It’s still happening to this day. How do we start treating intentional negligence that leads to mass suffering and death as seriously as murder? It is individuals making these decisions, and they need to be held personally liable.
The corporate veil is useful, and shouldn’t go away completely. But when an individual makes a decision that had a high probability of doing major harm, they should at least stop and raise the issue to a government agency, to limit their liability. If they do not take appropriate precautions, like getting explicit approval from government authorities, then they should be personally liable for the negligence.