Joe Barton's Apology to BP

[tw]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

I am not sure it matters so much as it does they are held accountable for the damage.

My question is will the government, in the end, really hold them accountable, or is this just political grandstanding by the Administration to try to appear strong while really giving them a pass, as long as we can make a side deal on cheap oil from BP in the future?

From Wikipedia:

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced on July 17, 2007 that he had filed suit against the Exxon Mobil Corporation and ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company to force cleanup of the oil spill at Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and to restore Newtown Creek.

A study of the spill released by the US Environmental Protection Agency in September 2007 reported that the spill consists of approximately 17 to 30 million gallons of petroleum products from the mid 1800's to the mid 1900's. ... By comparison, the Exxon Valdez oil spill was approximately 11 million gallons. The study reported that in the early 1900s Standard Oil of New York operated a major refinery in the area where the spill is located. ... Standard Oil of New York later became Mobil

The history of oil companies being responsible is pathetic. Obama is the first time that the offensive party had to put up the money in an escrow account.

But let's be honest. BP claims to have paid $100million in claims. Does anyone think damage over two months to businesses including fishing, hotels, businesses that only make money in the summer, retail, restaurants, food processing, oil industry support, etc is only $100 million?

$20billion is only a partial payment. But then no company that creates disasters this large pay the real costs. Which is why some industries require serious oversight especially when their history is routinely to ignore these consequences. BP even spends $millions apologizing in TV and radio commercials. Money wasted. No honest person should find that misguided effort acceptable.

BP should not survive due to corrupt management. If there is any justice, BP’s stockholders should suffer as GM's stockholders did. For not holding management feet to fire. For condoning the reasons for this and previous disasters.

Question is who will own which pieces of BP. And how cheap will the fire sale be.

BP was run by an MBA whose previous job was running Ericsson - a cell phone company. Therefore disaster was all but inevitable. He was doing to BP what Fiorina was doing to HP. What Akers did to IBM. What Nardelli did to Home Depot and Chrysler. What AT&T did to NCR - and then itself. What the most corrupt did to seven Challenger astronauts. These were not accidents.

Even 100 years ago, nobody could get Mobil to clean up America's worst oil spill. Why should this event be any different? Because a responsible someone for the first time forced them to create an escrow account.

And still some wacko extremist politician said that was not fair. A political agenda is always more important than America.