This piece was originally published in The American Prospect.
Christmas was around the corner, and he needed money for gifts. As he sized up the job, though, he was worried. There wasn’t the right equipment to climb the tree and he also wanted someone to hold the ladder as he climbed. He had worked for a tree-cutting firm, so he knew about safety.
But the contractor, who had offered him the job cutting down a tree at a condo, wouldn’t agree.
