Quotes

The Cry Wolf Quote Bank chronicles the false predictions and hyperbole by opponents of these laws and protections.  While the issues and specific policies change over time, the rhetoric and themes remained the same.  You can search the Quote Bank for what opponents said to prevent these laws from passing. Using the drop down menus on the right their statements by issue, by specific law, by who said it and by the core themes they evoke.   Elsewhere on the site, you can find articles, studies, and other material that debunks their claims. 

E.g., 2024-07-19
E.g., 2024-07-19

The major problem imposed on us by the labeling requirements of the proposed regulation, which imply to the general public an exposure to the risk of asbestosis and cancer. In products ---for example, like ordinary Asbestos-Cement Siding-Shingles --- where the fibers are locked into the cement, it is highly misleading, if not downright dishonest, to scare the homeowner into believing he is exposed to cancer risk.

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Edward J. Killian, Vice President for Manufacturing Operations, Gold Bond Building products.
03/14/1972 | Full Details

We have also removed the reference to cancer in the warning sign. Before using such scare tactics in the workplace, we feel much more should be known about the relationship between cancer and asbestos than is known at present.

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Bruce J. Phillips of Certain-Teed Products Corporation (an asbestos-cement pipe making company).
03/14/1972 | Full Details

A two fiber standard would require that GAF reconsider the economic feasibility of continued operation....These plants provide the livelihood for more than 4,000 employees. There is little, if any, medical evidence to support a two fiber standard.

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GAF Corporation comment, no specific author.
03/14/1972 | Full Details

One must keep in mind that certain of the above products are consumer oriented....A Warning label would be a substantial and unnecessary deterrent to the sale of these products. Since these products are not hazardous under any conditions, they should not be labeled as such. Their demise would mean the abolition of thousands of jobs at the manufacturing, distribution, contractor, and retailer levels.

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GAF Corporation comment, no specific author.
03/14/1972 | Full Details

Let me state, first, that achievement of a standard of 2 fibers per cc is not, at the present time, technically feasible in all areas of our manufacturing operations. Thus, I cannot estimate fully the total final economic impact on our business, or the total final capital investment required.

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Edward J. Killian, Vice President for Manufacturing Operations, Gold Bond Building products.
03/14/1972 | Full Details

I urge you and others involved in the preparation of this Standard to avoid hasty decisions that may place unnecessary economic burdens on the companies that will be forced to comply, with the possible ultimate result putting them in a position where they will no longer be able to compete.

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James D. Moran of the The Flintkote Company, a major producer of construction materials and services.
03/09/1972 | Full Details

Minimally, these actions would generate costs incalculable, yet STAGGERING [format from original].

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Thomas J. Gryl, National Safety Director for Brand Insulations Inc.
02/11/1972 | Full Details

As the dust would be ubiquitous, complete vacuum cleaning of a posted construction would be a daily occurrence. This monstrous task would be a nightmare and totally unfeasible. Alternately, enclosures to capture dust are equally unfeasible.

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Thomas J. Gryl, National Safety Director for Brand Insulations Inc.
02/11/1972 | Full Details

The people in this room have the same amount of lead in their blood as do the natives in New Guinea. If you take lead out of the air, you’ll still have it in your body.

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George Rausch, a professor from Tulane University, The Los Angeles Times.
10/28/1971 | Full Details

A piece of the roof came off with Medicare. Now the whole structure [of American Medicine] is threatened as we knew it would be sooner or later….Some people think that people are entitled to health care as a matter of right, whether they work or not. This is just as absurd as saying that food, clothes, and shelter are a matter of right- one step further than that is a revolutionary system bordering on communism.

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Dr. Edward R. Annis, former President of AMA, The New York Times, referring to Senator Edward Kennedy's push for universal healthcare.
10/14/1971 | Full Details
Law(s): Universal Healthcare | Themes: Socialism!

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