Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Audience question 7 from the debate

7. What will you do about workplace safety and workman's compensation?

Paraphrasing the other candidates: I am in favour of safety and if you vote for me I will make more and better rules than the other guys.

David McGruer: In a free society the role of government is to protect citizens from the initiation of force, and that is all. First of all, the rational response of a worker to a dangerous workplace is to leave the employer and find another that values safety more highly. If it can be determined that a workplace represents an objective danger to workers, such as in a case of negligence, then government may morally intervene to prevent immediate harm, but since life and all work involves risks of some kind, workers should generally be left free to decide if the compensation they receive for taking risks is suitable. For example, mining is probably more dangerous than gardening, so a worker would rationally expect to be paid more for mining. If he is not, then he should do other work. In addition, government does not interfere in the insurance market in a free society, but rather allows for all forms of insurance to exist and for market forces to drive supply and pricing. Every worker must make rational decisions about risk and insurance and neither employers nor other workers nor other citizens have the right to force any particular insurance or work upon him.

No comments:

Post a Comment