Theres Another Crime Happening in Flint, On Top of the Poisoning The Victims Cant SueBy Matt Agorist The problem here is, no level of lead is safe, Landrigan says. Even low levels of lead especially if exposure to low levels continues over many months is going to cause some degree of brain damage to at least some of the children who have been exposed thats a big deal. Exposed children are at risk for a number of problems, including lower IQ scores, developmental delays, and behavioral issues such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Even after lead exposure stops, the effects can last for years or even be permanent. For the rest of their lives, the residents of Flint will watch their health deteriorate over time, and they will know exactly who is responsible but will have no course of action to right their wrongs. In any other instance in which an individual or group of individuals is harmedby another person or group, those individuals could seek damages. However, thanks to what is called the doctrine of sovereign immunity in the United States, the government cannot be sued unless it has waived its immunity or consented to the suit. This principle is commonly expressed by the familiar, yet ancient and tyrannical legal maxim rex non potest peccare, meaning the king can do no wrong. Since the king can do no wrong, all of the very real wrongs carried out by the king or the state, in this instance, are deferred onto the backs of the taxpayers. Since the state has created the courts in which any suit would take place, they have the almighty option of not allowing said suit. Because of this immoral immunity, according to Shikha Dalmia at The Week, some activist lawyers in Michigan have come up with a creative constitutional argument to try and surmount the sovereign immunity hurdle. They have filed a class action lawsuit on the grounds that the government failed to provide Flint residents with equal protection under the 14th Amendment. But this rationale is a stretch that many plaintiffs lawyers are having trouble buying. Indeed, Reuters reported that law firms representing Southern California residents in their own class-action lawsuits against the recent gas leak caused by Southern California Gas Co, owned by the non-governmental Sempra Energy, have so far declined to participate in the Flint lawsuit because they dont think this reasoning will work. Last week, President Obama announced that his administration will be giving a whopping $80 million in aid to Michigan to repair Flints water infrastructure. Also last week, the Michigan House approved emergency funding in the amount of $28 million to address the contamination crisis. Combine this $108 million with the $5 million originally given from the federal government for Flint residents to purchase bottled water and filters, and that comes out to roughly $1,100 per each of Flints 99,763 residents. Is this fair? The costs associated with raising a lead-poisoned childor treating a lead-poisoned adult for the rest of their lives are astronomical and makes the $1,100 a vulgar insult to the Flint victims. These children are going to be injured for life. Theyre going to need remedial education, theyre going to need educational enrichment programs, Landrigan said to CBS News. Theyre kids who are going to be prevented from functioning at their full level. Aside from the $113 million not even coming close to helping the residents of Flint, it also comes nowhere close to correcting the problem. In a letter earlier this month to President Obama, Governor Snyder estimated it would cost $767,419,500 to replace Flints water system. The federal governments insultingly low offer doesnt come close. Had the residents of Flint been a fighter jet, however, the government would have had no problem throwing taxpayer-promised dollars at them. Instead, the residents are forced to face this horror with no help from the ones responsible. Had the residents of Flint been poisoned by a non-government entity, the idea of no compensation for damages would have people up in arms. Arrests may have already been made, and settlement negotiations would already be underway. But, sadly, since this criminal negligence was an act of the state, none of these things are likely going to happen. As Stephen Carter points out, writing for Bloomberg, If a private company distributed thousands of bottles of water with high levels of lead and other contaminants, lawsuits would chase it toward bankruptcy. So why should authorities in Michigan get a pass? Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Follow @MattAgorist no means for justice through the courts? then take it to the streets. Common law dictates that when injury is caused to a person, or its property, that recompense shall be the right of those inflicted with injury. How is it that city officials are not indicted? No justice through the courts?.take it to the streets and seek your own remedy. Yea..lets go burn some buildings and kill some people, that will fix it. Stupid much? After seeing the Hands up riots, and the Black lives matter riots, I think that it is more of a reality if you want something done, but then again it is who is rioting and who is behind the riots that make it happen the regular people of flint would not stand a chance I agree with your comment, just had to get that off my chest. good thinking. Good idea, lets have the parasitic burn down whats left of Flint. Sue the individuals responsible and for Petes sake someone please give these people DMSA [not dmso] pills to chelate the lead NOW. It is FDA approved as safe to remove lead in children adults and not expensive and works well. If the govt wont provide it parents need to purchase it online. The longer it stays in the more damage it does. This absolute immunity is unconstitutional. The people have the right to overturn unconstitutional law. This case should be put to a jury. Everything the government does is unconstitutional! This is y we need to vote out all the incumbents in congress and keep voting them out until they restore our voice and rights. Know who Im voting for? Unfortunately, for what ever reason, you should vote, be informed and vote, it is the only way to make them hold to their promises. I, like you believe they all lie. so we need to establish an accountability and restore some integrity to our politicians and not let them get away with lies, You must be very young and idealistic. However, do you realize by asking a politician to have integrity and not hurt you so much is like lying down with a cobra in a sleeping bag and asking it not to bite you. You are asking the very same people that write the laws that steal your money (taxes) and restrict and diminish your freedom and rights (laws and regulations) to stop. Think about it for a minute.You must come to understand, politicians do not care about you or what you want. They only care about the people who bribe uhuhuhuh I mean make campaign contributions to them. P.S. Voting for the lesser of two evils is still evil. If the courts are refusing to hear the case ; as the supreme court often does, then what? This is a criminal act. If we are to have laws then Rick Snyder must be arrested and stand trial otherwise we can forget about our legal system it is another criminal scheme. And maybe rope is a better choice. The democrats in Flint caused this issue, why not start there? The time for people to take action if the courts wont is going to come at some point. Government can abuse people till they cant any more. But I think there has to be a collapse that negates the Jack-boot response we have today. At that point its going to be dangerous to be an irresponsible-to-the-public government employee. While I dont want to see the suffering and mayhem that anarchy brings, a few public officials being hanged would not bother me much if at all. Why should parasites be able to sue their democrat masters? Are you equating all Flint residents who incurred lead poisoning with parasites? No just many of them. Read some of the articles. As if there are no non-Flint residents that are parasitic! Of course there are, people have become addicted to government entitlements. However, look at democrat controlled cities like Baltimore, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Flint, Philadelphia and even Ferguson, all lead by democrats for over twenty years and now cesspools filled with parasitic followers unable to care for themselves. Thats the feds for ya send em a couple mil and they will share the wealth by giving you back a dime. Sovereign immunity wont stand as a shield for the city governments neglect. what will hold water is what part personal responsibility would play, IF the city would have been responsible to replace the water supply pipes to the Meter. and the citys responsibility to provide funds or services for those who actually can not afford to replace out dated service to their point of supply to include, all lead pipes which were banned for water use years ago? The citys head of water treatment mentioned it was not his responsibility for supply lines from the plant to the meter, that was the citys responsibility, city said they have not had money to do it. seems like they got caught with their priorities down around their collective knees. Public health and safety is their responsibility, and should have been top priority for the past several decades, or for as long as the danger of lead was first brought out as a major problem. they would not be a need to talk all the BS that any exposure to lead is deadly over a period of time, I inserted deadly when I should have said harmful, sorry about that. But waiting until this situation is exposed and people are dying is no justification. I say sue the paints off the political bureaucrats that have been living high on the taxpayer, special interest groups money, from the city to the county and then to the State. 