In the wake of [the recent] federal court decision finding BP and its drilling partners guilty of “gross negligence” for their part in causing the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that did so much damage to the ecology of the Gulf, I, and many other Americans, are wondering where we go from here and what penalties these companies will suffer.
I applaud the decision of the federal court. That decision was courageous considering the powerful opposition that it must have faced from the very well-heeled guilty parties. Of course appellate courts will review the lower court findings and who knows what they will do?
Typically they have reduced similar verdicts to the extent that the wrong-doers face very small penalties and the American taxpayers are left to foot the cleanup expenses. I am very hopeful that BP and its associates will be required to pay a penalty large enough to cover the actual damages to the people and the environment. The size of the punitive penalty should be large enough to prevent subsequent egregious corporate practices.
[A recent] CBS “60 Minutes” television show aired an interesting segment which I believe is BP’s opening salvo defending itself by muddying the water. It was a thinly-veiled effort to blame the victims for the crime. The segment was devoted almost exclusively to alleged fraudulent compensatory claims for damages made by people and businesses living along the Gulf Coast.Very little evidence was presented regarding the scope of these claims, however. I am sure that there are many such claims, but they must not be allowed to distract us from criminal behavior of BP and its partners. The American people are entitled to justice for the corporate misbehavior that occurred. To allow BP and Halliburton off the hook because of unwarranted damage claims would be a gross miscarriage of justice.
Big corporations that leave a trail of pollution and damage behind them must be stopped. Admittedly they have a huge amount of resources with which to defend their disgraceful conduct. They must not prevail. If they are not checked our nation is doomed. Wealth and power must not be allowed to trump the well-being of all Americans. We must speak loudly and clearly in objection.
Who knows how much long term damage was done to the Gulf by this spill? It falls to the courts and the government to seek justice and punish those responsible. Americans should be able to go about our business without living in fear that our water is not safe to drink and our air is not safe to breathe.
Letting corporations do damage to our environment is ludicrous. Big money interests must not be allowed to rule. We live in a democracy where ultimate power rests in hands of the electorate. We must find a way to let these rich and powerful egomaniacs know that our democracy is not for sale.
Corporations are, and have been, buying legislation and court decisions. They have shown themselves to be utterly corrupt and untrustworthy. They get their way by hook or by crook because they have the financial wherewithal and will do whatever it takes to prevail. They are very resourceful and can afford to hire legions of lobbyists to craft legislation that legalizes their wrong-doing. They use their wealth to buy legislators, judges and government bureaucrats.
The Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court shows just how successful they have been. They are smart, subtle and disciplined in their efforts to subvert our democracy. Meanwhile we apathetically standby and do nothing.
Personally, I hope the courts and the government throw the book at BP and Halliburton and thereby set a precedent, letting them know that we are through subsidizing their ill-begotten gain. They and their stockholders get rich and we get oil spills and the like to clean up. We pay through the nose at the gas pump, give them subsidies and then pick up the tab for the messes they make. Enough! How bad do they think we need their jobs?
Wake up, America, and look at what these plutocrats have done.
David Browning
Peachtree City, Ga.
