- The recent case of salmonella-infected peanut products has now become known for being deliberately placed in stores, even with the salmonella tests showing up negative. The fact that the Peanut Corporation of America would knowingly put out salmonella-tainted products in order to keep making money and stay in business shows that the economy has really got to people. Now the government needs to gets its act together to put tougher restrictions on food suppliers so that the selling of known tainted products can become impossible and dangerous for these companies.
- This Washington Post article gives one editors opinion on how the government can go about its business of protecting America’s food supply. Already nine people have died and 637 have been infected by the illness. However, there is some proposed legislation from various representatives that would safeguard the future from contaminated foods. The combination of bills from Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut), John D. Dingell (D-Michigan), and Diana DeGette (D-Colorado) would together allow a system of checks against future food problems. These bills would create the requirement for hazard tests to be reported, mandate the use of certified labs with results sent in, and make contaminated foods mandatorily recalled. If these bills are passed future generations would rest easy knowing that their foods are good, clean, and safe to eat. Currently there is no real system in the United States providing for the certification of the safe distribution of foods and thus, contaminated tests are not required to be turned in to the government. In older times, people wouldn’t even think of selling tainted foods to the public, but as times have gotten tough, people have gotten greedier, which leads to today’s salmonella crisis.
- Three months after 59 percent of Maryland voters approved the slots, the machines still have not lived up to the expectations of the people in the revenue they were supposed to generate. Basically everything has fallen apart as the slots are only expected to make only $40 million of the $90 million that was originally factored into Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal budget of 2010. The slots are not even being placed in the right places as 4,750 of the 6,550 machines are being placed near the family-friendly Arundel Mall. There also lies another problem: there are only 6,550 machines available to place around all of Maryland. When the people approved the slots, they were not betting on the school budget being left dry while the money all went to the slots, and now that the slots are not working out, Maryland has been left in a little financial crisis of its own.
- The fact that the people of Maryland have been betting on the slots singlehandedly getting their economy out of the financial crisis is very disturbing. Due to the fact that all of the trust is left in the hands of one factor, the chance of failure increases quite a bit and failure could lead to the collapse of the entire economy. The people of Maryland now need to pull together and get a new plan for their economy ready so that the economy can return on an upward path to revenue gain. The slots have already failed so they should just leave that in place, if possible, and also get a backup plan ready just in case the economy goes into a crisis. Next time, the residents of Maryland need to think again and try to learn from their mistake and remember not to make the same mistake again.
