We made workplace safety a priority once. We can again.

The story of OSHA is a story about how America treats its own people when no one is watching. The 1970 Act emerged from a moment of collective moral clarity—when the public learned that an estimated 14,000 workers were dying annually on the job, and the nation decided that was unacceptable. That decision transformed workplaces. But the machinery built for that transformation has aged poorly, and the question now is whether we still possess the civic imagination to rebuild it. The article rightly identifies a regulatory paradox: while the American economy has evolved dramatically—think gig platforms, remote work, subcontracting chains—the regulatory framework designed to protect workers has barely moved. The last major OSHA rulemaking on workplace violence prevention, for instance, has languished for years. Meanwhile, the agency's inspection force is smaller per worker than it was in the 1980s, meaning the average workplace can expect an OSHA visit roughly once every century. That's not enforcement; that's symbolism. Of course, the conservative case deserves a fair hearing. Employers argue that OSHA's prescriptive, one-size-fits-all approach often fails to account for industry-specific realities, and that the compliance costs—estimated in the billions annually—disproportionately hit small businesses operating on thin margins. There's also a legitimate philosophical point: if employers already face civil liability for unsafe conditions and reputational damage from workplace incidents, does a slow-moving federal bureaucracy add genuine value, or does it simply add paperwork? These aren't unreasonable questions, and they deserve honest engagement rather than dismissal. Yet the counterargument is equally compelling. Liability regimes only work when injuries are actually reported, and gig workers, temp employees, and independent contractors frequently fall through the cracks—unable to file claims, unaware of their rights, or afraid of retaliation. When the invisible hand fails, the visible hand of government becomes the last line of defense. The article's core thesis—that we made workplace safety a priority once and can do so again—is ultimately a question of national character. Do we still believe that a worker's life should not be a cost of doing business? The answer, as with most things, will depend on whether voters and their representatives decide that some things are worth the price. As the source article notes, the tools exist; what's lacking is the will. Source: https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/labor/6072884-osha-safety-standards-failure/