NEW YORK, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Events such as trains derailing and banks failing are not accidents of nature in the United States, they happen when corporations and the ultrawealthy are allowed to behave recklessly with people's lives and world, reported global poverty-reducing organization Oxfam on Thursday.

 

"Big business spent 3.5 billion U.S. dollars last year in the effort to pressure Congress to get their way. Now we're paying the price," said the report.

 

"So far, 2023 has provided glaring examples of what happens when corporate power overreaches and puts real people in harm's way. And by overreach, we mean -- pressures Congress and the federal administration to loosen protective ties," it noted.

 

"It's the logical end of a calculation that prioritizes short-term gain for a few -- in the shape of profits, and shareholder returns, and executive compensation -- at the expense of every other thing," it said.

 

The bottom line of an unregulated system doesn't value the lives and well-being of working families, the climate, or wildlife -- all of which are at risk when disasters occur. "It's about power, and the lack of political will to stand up to it," it added.