After Benton Harbor—a city of nearly 10,000 people, over 80% of them black—made headlines for its water crisis this year, Michigan promised to replace all the town’s lead service lines within 18 months. (It is being done on schedule). That did not stop its residents from filing a class-action lawsuit in November alleging deliberate government indifference (against the local Municipality and the State government). The same day a judge approved a $626m settlement for people affected by a water crisis across the state in Flint, which caused a similar media frenzy after residents complained about tainted water in 2014. Getting national attention, it seems, pays off.
Source: The Economist. In America, baseless accusations of systemic racism get you compensated even if the water is turbid because of your own stupidity and incompetence. In America 2021, you can blame the government for indifference and get paid for it. This way lies madness ...
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