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How easy it is to make a joke about something you don't understand. That's extraordinary, bfisher.
Dazrin, I absolutely agree with you. Asbestos is one example of which I know a little, as it was mined here in Australia and turned into building products by a company called James Hardie.
When current and former employees started to be struck down by asbestosis and pleural mesothelioma, they apparently paid some compensation, but removed assets from the James Hardie company and set up business under another name in the Netherlands, so that as more cases came to light (it can take about 30 years to show the symptoms), there was the company safely located overseas, with insufficient funds left in Australia to cover the mounting claims.
There were long battles through the courts, led by a dying man who had to have an oxygen tank with him at all times. The company was just as callous as the ones in the book, but with modern media, came under much more scrutiny nationwide.
So many large companies mouth platitudes about how "our employees are our greatest asset", but when the chips are down, those assets don't seem to be worth much at all.
You are right to feel angry, Catlady.
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