25 Jun

10 Extreme Disasters Caused by Cheapskate Companies! (BP number 1, no surprise)

Saving money is a good thing. The frugal way of life has multiple benefits including benefits that extend beyond just the financial and include such things as simplicity, family closeness and a true understanding of your own core values. However, there are times when people who are trying to save money take things a little bit too far. This is especially true at the government and organization levels where saving money can mean cutting back on things that are necessary to safety and security. If you’re not using common sense when it comes to saving money then saving money can end up being a bad thing.

Take a look at these ten disasters that were caused at least in part by people trying too hard to cut corners and save money:

1. Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill. This recent disaster is ranked as one of the worst environmental tragedies in the history of the United States. Nearly a dozen people lost their lives in the explosion of the deepwater drilling rig and the end result was a terrible oil spill that is threatening everything from animal life to tourism. And some people are suggesting that the desire to save money resulted in carelessness that ultimately led to this tragedy. It is believed that a number of key changes were made to the expensive drilling plan in order to save both time and money and that these changes and the oversights associated with them led to the explosion and oil spill. Check out this fake BP public relations twitter page for humor on the subject.
2. West Virginia Coal Mining Tragedy. Earlier this year more than two dozen coal miners were killed after an explosion in an underground mine where they were working. The situation is being investigated as many people believe that the explosion could have been prevented if the company running the operation hadn’t been trying to cut costs. It has been found that the company disregarded numerous safety citations and failed to properly monitor methane levels in the mine, acts which may have been committed in order to save money and could have directly led to the explosion.
3. Bhopal Disaster of 1984.  A pesticide plant in India released dangerous toxins that resulted in at least 3,000 deaths and perhaps as many as 15,000 deaths. Nearly half a million people were exposed to these toxins. Groundwater in the area is still affected to this day. It has been reported that trying to save money was what led to the leak. For example, company officials allegedly refused to replace leaking pipes or even properly train workers.
4. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 Crash. In 2000 there was an airplane crash that caused the deaths of more than eighty people as well as the total destruction of the airplane. The crash was due to a lack of maintenance. Proper maintenance would have prevented these deaths. Although it has not been confirmed, it is possible that the lack of maintenance was due to a desire to save money, time or both.
5. Rollercoaster Ride Death at Disneyland. In 2003 one of the rollercoasters at Disneyland, Big Thunder Mountain, derailed. It killed one person and injured ten others. It was found that improper maintenance and possibly lack of maintenance training were the cause of the tragedy. Disney denied that they had cut corners that affected safety. If that was their intent, they probably didn’t get what they were looking for since lawsuit settlements in the case were high.
6. Shanghai School Children Die in Earthquake. A large 2008 earthquake in Shanghai caused multiple schools to come tumbling down resulting in the deaths of hundreds of school children. It is reported that these schools collapsed due to the fact that they weren’t up to current building codes, a problem that was more than likely caused by a lack of funding to update the buildings.
7. Cave Creek Disaster of 2005. A New Zealand national park saw the tragic death of over one dozen people when a viewing platform at a scenic lookout collapsed. It was found that this was due to faulty construction which was caused by a lack of funding that led to the decision to cut corners when it came to proper construction of the platform.
8. NYC Crane Collapses. In 2008 there were two separate incidents of cranes collapsing during their work on buildings. People were killed in both accidents including innocent bystanders who happened to be near the work area at the time of the collapse. The cranes belonged to James Frank Lomma who knew that they were old and faulty but didn’t want to spend the money on better cranes. He’s likely regretting his cheapness since he’s been found guilty on criminal charges as a result of his penny-pinching.
9. Wadi Seer Building Collapse. The tragedies continue with this recent building collapse that left bodies under rubble for days. The owner of the building had been warned about cracks in the building but had made the choice to delay repairs indefinitely. He is accused of trying to save money which led to faulty building and the lack of those needed repairs ending in the loss of both homes and lives for the people living in this building.
10. Pets Being Murdered to Save Money. There is a term that we have started to become all too familiar with ever since the economy went south: economic euthanasia. This refers to the act of putting pets to sleep because the cost of taking care of them is higher than the cost of killing them. This may not seem like a disaster to everyone but think about your child’s crestfallen class when you explain that Fido had to die because you couldn’t afford him. That’s a personal tragedy.

Hey, seems you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed, so you will be the first to get our free money saving tips. New today, free Zavvi Discount Codes. Get £5 off at Zavvi. Also checkout the code for Travelodge here. Thanks for visiting!