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The Grenfell Tower inferno in central London might have been averted for a cost of a mere $6,000 — or a little more than $100 for each of the 58 unfortunates who, on the best estimate available this weekend, perished in the disaster.
If British reports are to be believed, the Grenfell Tower inferno in central London might have been averted for a cost of a mere $6,000 — or a little more than $100 for each of the 58 unfortunates who, on the best estimate available this weekend, perished in the disaster.
According to the London Daily Mail, when the tower was recently renovated, builders opted for a cladding material so inappropriate that it is rated “flammable” in Germany and its use in tall buildings in even lightly regulated America is banned. The attraction was a saving of a mere 10 percent. On the Mail’s numbers, that added up to a total saving compared to a safe material of £5,000 — equal to a little more than $6,000.
Such is the dystopia that deregulation, British-style, has wrought — a dystopia whose excesses are now finally coming to be widely recognized by…
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The Most Revolutionary Act 
So tragic, so foolish. Cheapskate business tactics don’t even serve capitalists. The same business reasoning created the Flint water crisis, and much hardship and death around the world.
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I’ve just been listening to a BBC documentary about all the new housing projects the Conservative government has built on old toxic landfills without cleaning up – all the families living in the new homes are getting sick. Anything to save a buck.
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Is it just penny-pinching? – or is there something more sinister going on? There needs to be some serious accountability for what happened at Glenfell – but don’t hold your breath waiting. Apparently the boss of the cladding company has gone into hiding.
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In my view, it’s a combination of penny pinching and an overall world view that sees everyone outside the ruling elite as either wage slaves or useless eaters.
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Interesting to see the ensuing panic now, though. They know they’re facing some serious claims for damages – and there are other buildings covered with the same cheapskate cladding. Don’t you love it when chickens come home to roost! It’s jıst a pity that real people have to die before accountability starts to kick in.
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