The only reasons that I might suspect that the asbestos reform legislation has a chance this year are that the need for the bill has been largely mooted by state tort reform and other factors and that the bill being discussed is a disaster. I oppose the reform for a number of reasons:
What will happen to my phoney baloney job if asbestos litigation goes away for a while?
- I believe that tort law is a matter for the states and that the federal government has no authority to regulate it.
- The current favored proposal sets up a trust fund for victims paid for by industry and insurers, but the amount of funding is not nearly adequate to pay the benefits called for. The trust scheme will fail.
- The mess will likely end up back in the courts several years from now, and nobody’s insurance assets will be around to cover claims.
- Congress may decide to socialize the whole mess and let taxpayers foot the bill. This would be corporate welfare plain and simple.
- The favored scheme provides for benefits to categories of people who are not currently able to make cases in court and who don’t really have good claims.
- The problem of huge numbers of non-impaired nuisance claimants has been all but solved by the states such that asbestos liability should become more predictable and track epidemiological models. We don’t really need the reform any longer.
The wisest course for Congress is to table the bill and then to dangle it as contribution bait next year. They can ride this thing for at least another election or two. If they pass a bill, the funds dry up.
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