“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” –Plato
Toyota Motors has rightfully been the focus of intense media scrutiny. There have been over 34 vehicular deaths, which have been attributed to Toyota’s floor mats and accelerators. The Toyota fatality rate will surely rise. In Japan, Toyota’s employees are dropping like flies. The Japanese court ruled that one employee died of overwork, in that he accumulated over 106 hours of overtime in less than a month. The Japanese Labour Ministry has received over 315 financial requests from the families of deceased Toyota employees, alleging “karoshi” or “death by overwork.” Karoshi probably never happens in France.
To make matters worse for Toyota, accusations have surfaced that the automaker might have “influenced” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s initial understanding of the breadth of the accelerator problems. Toyota has recalled over 8 million vehicles; this is 50 percent of its product line.
Currently, Congress is holding hearings on Toyota. This begs the question, why are two of the sleaziest politicians in Washington involved with these hearings? Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edolphus Towns (D-NY) are the respective Chairs of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Both share a conflict of interest in that they have a pro union voting record, with Towns at 100 percent and Waxman at 85 percent. GM, a direct competitor to Toyota, houses the United Auto Workers Union (UAW). Waxman and Towns supported the government takeover of GM, to protect the UAW.
An ethical person would recuse himself from the proceedings, but not these two “goodfellas.” Towns and Waxman were key players in the Rubbergate scandal; Towns bounced 408 checks to the house bank, while Waxman bounced 434 checks. Towns was also the subject of a federal probe where he was caught taking cash in a videotaped sting operation. In addition, Waxman was a participant in that expensive Copenhagen Summit trip from December 2009. Possibly one of the most unethical things Towns did was to block the subpoenas into the Countrywide Loan scandal. A story unfolded that showed Towns received two special loans from Countrywide.
Justice will not be served when the crooks are in charge. Ethics and integrity are a rarity in Washington. Philosopher, Albert Camus explained, “A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world.” Congress must be full of wild beasts.