The Bush Administration and Preemption

While reading a blog by “A Georgia Lawyer” entitled, FOIAs Reveal How Bush Administration Made Complete Immunity for Negligent Corporations a Top Priority, I came across the term, preemption, that I was not aware of before. I idea of preemption allows federal rules to null the rights of the states in certain situations. The example being used involved consumer protection rights that were being undermined by federal rules to protect large corporations. I personally can not think of a more blatant example of an advantage or lobbying for big businesses. These tactics have been used by the Bush administration to disallow a state to call for stricter safety standards. Preemption has even prevented anyone harmed through corporation negligence to use their state’s protection orders against the company.

The idea of Preemptions only deepens my suspicion and dislike for Big Business Lobbyists. It is easy to see that rules and regulations such as this one do serve their purpose of protection as in the right case a corporation could legitimately be saved from large scale negligence lawsuits. The protection they provide, however, is protection for the business and not for the person. I understand that these corporations, especially the pharmaceuticals, could potentially be wiped out by the right lawsuit, but preemptions are not the solution to this problem. The solution is a more intense regulation of the production and marketing of Big Business products which will protect both the consumer and the producer in the long run.