There is a pretty interesting poll out today in The New York Times about our billionaire mayor. The teflon mayor is still pretty popular–something I’ve never understood. But, people are paying attention to one of his failings–choosing development over the lives of workers. I’ve been watching the fatalities and injuries pile up for a while.

   Buried at the end of the poll–literally, the last question out of 64 before the poll got to background questions–is this question:

Do you think the Bloomberg Administration has done enough to balance the need for safety in the construction industry and the economic benefits of development, or should it have done more?  

   The answer: 79 percent said that Bloomberg has not done enough. That is a pretty startling number for a couple of reasons. First, most people in the city are not directly effected by the deaths and injuries that have ripped through the industry in the past few months. Second, the general perception, fed by the media, has been that development is a one-sided, great benefit for the city.

   So, the poll results tell me a couple of things. First, it means something when the media does pay attention to something other than the glorification of construction and a politician who is obsessed with building at all cost; when the media starts acting–albeit, after people die–a bit more independent, or at least awake, than people shift their views. Second, people care about workers’ lives, even if they are not directly effected by their deaths or injuries. It might be because of general solidarity–"an injury to one is an injury to all"–or simply out of a fear that what befalls someone today might befall you tomorrow–or a little of both.

   But, the poll results do tell me that people are ready to take more extreme actions against CEOs who abuse workers. I said before: time to lock them up.