Corporate Education
Reform and ALEC's Definition of Acceptable Risk
The left-leaning political blog Think Progressrecently reported on a comment from a top-executive with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that some children eating rat poison is "an acceptable risk." Thus, there is no justification for the government to regulate these kinds of products. For ALEC, the risk is just the cost of doing business and it's really up to the parents to do the actual cost-benefit analysis; that is, don't use poison and endure a rat infestation on the one hand or on the other kill the rats, but potentially poison your child in the process. Nice.
I bring up this story on ALEC half in earnest and half in jest. I'm probably over-simplifying the rat poison quote, and perhaps this is just how people in business speak. Although, it does not diminish the puerile nature of a comment labeling poisoned children as one of many potential "acceptable risks" in the extermination business.
In earnest, however, ALEC's political influence is very far-reaching and not to be underestimated,