The Baltimore bridge disaster: A product of profit-driven cost-cutting
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The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore resulted from a collision between a container ship and a support column, causing the bridge to crash into the Chesapeake Bay. Six maintenance workers on the bridge at the time are presumed dead. The collision exposed the collision between private profit and the needs of a modern society. The bridge was not upgraded to deal with the danger despite regularly encountering ships of similar size. The issue is not a lack of technical ability but a lack of resources allocated to ensure the safety of infrastructure. America faces a backlog of $125 billion in needed bridge repairs. President Biden recently signed a $1.2 trillion spending bill, with two-thirds of the funds allocated to the military. Cost-cutting and corporate criminality likely played a role in the collision. The ship involved had previously been involved in a collision and had propulsion issues. The global shipping company contracted the ship, Maersk, was cited for an illegal policy aimed at silencing whistleblowers. Corporate profiteering and neglect of infrastructure have led to disasters in the US, such as Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill, the Flint water crisis, and the ongoing scandal at Boeing. The ruling class prioritizes investments in new technologies and supply chains aimed at cutting jobs through automation. The closure of the Port of Baltimore has economic and military implications. The union bureaucracy is working with the Biden administration to impose a sellout deal. The working class must fight against the domination of banks and major corporations and struggle for the socialist reorganization of society. The fight for socialism is an international struggle.

#BaltimoreBridgeCollapse #ProfitdrivenCostcutting #InfrastructureNeglect #ShippingIndustry #WorkingClass #Socialism

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/03/28/pers-m28.html