More on the ALEC-inspired AZ bill to limit asbestos liability

by David Safier

Yesterday I wrote about HB2368, a bill to limit the liability of companies sued for asbestos-related illnesses. It's a nearly exact copy of an ALEC model bill which has already passed in 11 other states. I said in the post, I don't know who the bill is designed to protect in Arizona, but it sure isn't the people affected by asbestos exposure.

I still don't know which corporations stand to benefit in Arizona, but commenter Gramiam sent me a link indicating the type of people who pour money into getting this kind of legislation passed. It's a Greg Palast article from October, 2011: The 4 Billionaire 'Vultures' Trying to Pick Our Next President. One of the "vultures" is Paul Singer, who Palast calls "the carrion king." He's a guy who buys up poor nations' debt after it has been forgiven by richer nations, then bleeds the nations dry by making them pay.

But that's not the asbestos story. It relates to his buying Owens Corning after it was sued for exposing its workers to asbestos when it was aware of the dangers. You can read the relevant passage after the jump.

Here's the relevant passage from Palast's article:

And it's not just poor African carcasses that tempt Singer. Indeed, during my investigation for my new book, Vultures' Picnic, I discovered that Singer's first big vulture attack was on American asbestos victims.

Background:  The executives of three companies — vermiculate mine operator WR Grace, wallboard manufacturer USG and building materials company Owens Corning — knew that asbestos exposure in their respective operations was killing their workers. When caught and sued, the companies filed for bankruptcy, agreeing to pay almost all of their earnings to the people who were dying and injured by their asbestos.

But Singer had a better idea. These companies, as you can imagine, were worth next to nothing, and Singer bought Owens Corning for a song.

If he could cut the amount paid to the victims, Singer could boost Corning's value big time. So, a public relations campaign began, attacking the dying workers, saying they were all faking it.

One attacker was a guy named George W. Bush.

In January 2005, President Dubya held a televised meeting to promote an "expert" who pronounced that over half a million workers suing Singer's industry were liars. If workers couldn't breathe, he said to the grinning president, it wasn't the fault of asbestos.

The "expert" was not a doctor, but, notably, his "research" was partly funded by … Paul Singer. And so was Bush. Since the death of Enron's Ken Lay, Singer and his vulture flock at Singer's hedge fund, Elliott International, had become the top contributors to the Republican National Committee. It's hard to measure his largess exactly because some of that help comes in through the side door. For example, Singer put money behind the Swift Boat smear on Bush's opponent, John Kerry.

The legal, political and public relations attacks on the dying workers chiseled away the compensation expected to be paid by the asbestos companies, boosting their net worth. Singer then flipped Corning, selling it for a neat billion-dollar profit.

It's legal. It's brilliant. It's sick. It's Singer.