In a new blog post written for The Huffington Post, OMB Watch Executive Director Gary Bass finds similarities among the BP oil spill, the Massey Energy mine explosion, and Toyota's massive vehicle recall. "In each instance, businesses with poor safety records have continued to operate in a system of voluntary regulation," Bass writes. "These and other incidents result from a failure of politicians to provide regulatory agencies with the resources and authority to set and enforce standards."

When confronted with these tragedies, some just throw up their hands and say “accidents happen.” (Check out this video with Rand Paul.) But those of us who understand how government works, and how it can sometimes fail, know better. We expect Congress to write laws in the public’s interest, expect agencies to enforce them, and expect businesses to abide. Anything short of that is unacceptable.

If you have anything to say about thee incidents or about government's role in protecting the public, be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below the post at The Huffington Post website.

Read the post, "Could These Corporate Failures Have Been Prevented?"