I didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted. I will try to not go so long again. So, here's a small part of my opinion on the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
So much for a quick and decisive response from Obama. I am thoroughly annoyed and disappointed, but not surprised. And no one should be surprised that Republicans have been blocking Democrats attempts to change liability for oil companies from $75 million to $10 billion, which potentially could be much less than the actual cost of the Deepwater Horizon spill. Republicans have been claiming that the proposed new limits are too high and will hurt independent businesses. Really? How many "mom and pop" exploratory oil drilling operations are there? If a company has the resources to do this kind of work and wants to make the associated profits, they should be liable for ANY damages that they cause. It is upsetting, but again not a surprise, that there is so much incompetence and corruption in the departments that regulate, inspect, and oversee mining and drilling. But Democrats are not blameless by any means. Corruption has become the norm for many politicians, regardless of party affiliation. Corruption, much like love, is blind.
It's always about money. Corporations regularly break laws. It has become expected. But why wouldn't they? For example, if a corporation can make a $5 billion profit on an endeavor but will likely be fined $25 million for their actions, their shareholders would likely be very upset if the corporation didn't pursue the opportunity, even if it means breaking laws. And they would most likely reward their CEO for it. This is what capitalism has come to. Would it really have made an appreciable difference in BP's bottom line to have installed additional safety equipment that is required in most of the rest of the world? A $500,000 valve could have prevented this newest oil spill. BP's profits for just the first quarter of 2010 were $5.6 billion. That's after expenses and taxes. But its been a good year for BP. Last year in the first quarter they only made $2.4 billion in profits. Poor BP. If laws change, they might only make a couple billion dollars in profit this year. How horrible for them.
BP claims that the "top kill" method they are going to use to attempt to plug the leak has a 60-70% chance of working. What chances did they give the last failed attempt? I'm certainly no expert, but considering how dishonest they have been throughout this whole affair and their past record of deceptions, I give it a 15-20% chance of working. I really hope it will work. The environmental damage and the loss of livelihood will be devastating and the effects will be felt for many years to come. But I have very little faith that it will work.
The cliche "money is the root of all evil" may go a little far, but not by much.
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