Posted by
HVYSLPR on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 6:05:46 PM
*I found this gem on top of my fridge, a product of another rant, gathering dust instead of informing and entertaining eager minds, or mind, as it turns out.
It occurred to me yesterday, while sitting in yet another seemingly pointless meeting, that the government’s hands are in just about everything we do. My co-workers and I were taking one of four HAZMAT (hazardous materials) certification tests when it struck me. I shouldn't’t be as mad at the undeniably boring instructor as I should be with my own government. It is because of over regulation that I sat, completely unnecessarily, in a room for ninety minutes (ninety minutes I’ll want back when I sit on my death bed, no doubt) learning about DOT (Department of Transportation) regulations on the transporting and handling of what they deem hazardous (almost everything).
The regulations put forth by the government on my company, and countless others were all written with good intentions, but as it turns out, they often hurt much more than they help. The most obvious damage is done economically, and for me, emotionally.
I looked around to try and quickly add up the amount of money it takes my company to comply with this particular DOT regulation. The woman giving the meeting has to be paid, and everyone else in the room is getting paid, overtime in some cases. The tests were about ten pages long, and the packets used to follow along with the instructor were over twenty pages long. Three meetings were given that day, to over 75 people. My company gives these tests to most of the people who work for us in the U.S., somewhere around 30,000 people. Everyone who handles, may handle, or may come in contact with, ship, pack, or transport, test, recondition, repair, modify, marks, or prepares hazardous material must comply with this regulation every two years, after any job function change, or anytime the DOT updates or changes the regulations. All new employees must attend within ninety days of being hired. All these records must be kept as long as the employee works for the company, and ninety days thereafter.
I just wrote that and I don’t know what it means, so I am assuming that companies need to hire some sort of interpreter also. Consider the costs associated with the paperwork alone you are talking about tens of thousands of dollars, perhaps more. Add to that the cost associated with storing that paperwork.
This is the tip of the iceberg my friends. Each car in our fleet has to have stickers, cages, spill kits, coolers, and be packed with absorbent material. In our lab our garbage’s have to have special color bags and chemicals all have to have special markings. The books that explain all these markings must be accessible. The specimens in our lab must be packed a certain way for disposal and shipment, in accordance with not only IDOT but with the CDC (Center for Disease Control), EPA (The Environmental Protection Agency), ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), and IATA (International Air Transport Association). These specimens, when disposed of (within 120 days after we receive them, according to regulations), must then be transported (not by us, we don’t have the license), for a fee, according to the regulations set by IDOT, the EPA, CDC, ICAO, and IATA, to name a few.
That is all for just a few of the many, many, many, regulations my company has to follow, all with their own certification tests, meetings, paperwork, and costs. Not to mention, mine is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of companies doing the exact same thing, in a very large, very regulated, country.
I kept thinking, who pays for all this? Is it my boss? It is the shareholders? No. Our customers pay for it. All of these extra costs are considered every time prices for our services are set. With each new tax, or regulation comes a higher price. So, who are our customers? Hospitals, doctors and insurance companies mostly. That’s not a problem. If anyone can afford it, they can. But who pays their costs? As it turns out, the very people these regulations were supposed to protect; the patients, and the American people in general. In other words: you.
I work for the largest independent clinical laboratory in the U.S. My company employees over 30,000 people, in multiple countries, and tests over 100,000 specimens a night. That means that 100,000 people, 100,000 lives. People, who are awaiting results for something as simple as cholesterol test, to results on something life changing, like pregnancy, or even cancer, results.
The worst part about all of this is that nothing will be done about it. Anyone who tries to change these regulations will be vilified.
“Jobs will be lost, people will be put back in danger!” I can almost hear the hysterics now. “We need these regulations to keep big business in check! We’re protecting the little guy,” they’ll say, no doubt in soft, caring voices.
It doesn’t matter that these regulations do more harm than good, and stifle business, growth, and the over-all economy. Their intentions are pure, and therefore the program is worthy. You’re never going to get the government to willingly give up its control over people...like it or not.