This is BP’s Problem, Not Ours
Tuesday 25 May 2010 - Filed under Dumbassery + Economy + Taxation
Clifford Krauss and Matthew L. Wald via The New York Times:
The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency in Louisiana announced Tuesday that, at the request of Gov. Bobby Jindal, the federal Department of Commerce had declared a commercial fisheries failure for the state, allowing commercial fishermen to receive aid from the Economic Development Administration.
I sympathize with those along the gulf coast who have had their livelihoods fucked with because of the oil spill, and I agree that they are entitled to full compensation for their losses. But not one goddamn penny should come from the taxpayers. BP should be on the hook for every single bit. If that means they go out of business, so be it. That is the cost for being negligent when conducting business. On May 11 I wrote,
If someone does something, and in the process of doing that something they damage another’s property, that someone who was doing that something should be legally required to fix the problem, however extensive, and pay for the full expense out of pocket. No subsidies, no limits. When we get government out of the business of limiting liability, companies will start to act as if they have something to lose and conduct their businesses accordingly.
I stand by every word of it. Yet it seems that those in Congress are more interested in some future oil exploration than in doling out justice.
Several members of Congress have introduced legislation to raise the cap; Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey has proposed $10 billion. But some members of the committee said they were not sure what the limit should be.
“Ten billion, is that the right figure?” said Senator Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska Republican who is the ranking minority member of the committee. She said her colleagues should “take the time to assure we’re building good policy on this.”
Senator Robert F. Bennett, Republican of Utah, asked if setting aside all liability limits would preclude drilling by small operators, who could not afford enough insurance, or perhaps eliminate offshore drilling all together. “What are the chances that they will be able to get sufficient insurance if the cap is set so high, or the cap is lifted all together, so that a business decision will be made by the boards of these companies, ‘the risk is too great, we will drop all activities.’ ”
We’re on the verge of the largest oil spill in history, and are already experiencing untold amounts of environmental damage. Congress needs to stop thinking about an appropriate liability cap (an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one) and do the right thing: hold BP accountable for every dime. If they refuse to pay up, freeze their accounts and make sure that they never do business in the US again.
2010-05-25 » madlibertarianguy