Govt. Influence
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
A month ago in the Gulf of Mexico an industrial accident on a British Petroleum (BP) oil platform resulted in an obscene amount of oil being spewed into the ocean. Thirty days later BP, unhindered by government interference, has still not stopped the leak. And the usual suspects who rally against government intervention are now calling, for guess what? Yes, government intervention. And they are falling all over themselves running to the nearest podium to lay blame, on guess who? Yes, President Obama. And I agree. He has put too much trust in BP and he should have intervened within the first few days. But those on the right who seek to blame the president for doing exactly what most conservatives ask him to do are nothing but hypocrites trying to score political points.
In 2007 Inspector General Devaney stated that a "culture of ethical failure" existed in the Mineral Management Service, the agency in charge of regulating the oil and gas industry. Sex, drugs, bribery and cronyism ruled the day at the MMS under the oil friendly Republican Bush/Cheney Administration. Now a recent report regarding the MMS led Interior Secretary Salazar to state that the report "is further evidence of the cozy relationship between some elements of MMS and the oil and gas industry."
This is what happens when bribes disguised as campaign contributions are considered free speech. This is what happens when capitalism is allowed to supersede Democracy. And since under capitalism people are encouraged to act in their own best interest, some will pursue the all-mighty dollar and disregard what is good for our nation. Under this system it is reasonable to suspect that BP has done a cost-benefit analysis that showed them that it is in their own best interests to let the oil spill rather than permanently sealing off a well that cost millions to drill. If capitalism could lead to this kind of behavior in our government and the big corporations, shouldn't we ask whether unfettered capitalism is good for America? Can we truly serve two masters?
Capitalism is an economic system where the means of production are privately owned; prices are set by market forces; and the profits are distributed to owners who invest in businesses and have taken the risk of losing those investments. But as we have recently seen with President Bush's bank bailout this is simply not the case in America. If owners are big enough, they risk nothing because their investments are insured with taxpayer dollars.
So don't be surprised when the "too influential to ignore" oil companies are bailed out when their lobbyists, aided by their bought and paid for Congressmen and Senators, succeed in capping their liabilities leaving the gulf coast region devastated. And as time passes, we will see how the influence that the oil profits have paid for led to this disaster as further reports of government regulators turning a blind eye in exchange for gifts and financial compensation emerge.
Robert Betances
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
A month ago in the Gulf of Mexico an industrial accident on a British Petroleum (BP) oil platform resulted in an obscene amount of oil being spewed into the ocean. Thirty days later BP, unhindered by government interference, has still not stopped the leak. And the usual suspects who rally against government intervention are now calling, for guess what? Yes, government intervention. And they are falling all over themselves running to the nearest podium to lay blame, on guess who? Yes, President Obama. And I agree. He has put too much trust in BP and he should have intervened within the first few days. But those on the right who seek to blame the president for doing exactly what most conservatives ask him to do are nothing but hypocrites trying to score political points.
In 2007 Inspector General Devaney stated that a "culture of ethical failure" existed in the Mineral Management Service, the agency in charge of regulating the oil and gas industry. Sex, drugs, bribery and cronyism ruled the day at the MMS under the oil friendly Republican Bush/Cheney Administration. Now a recent report regarding the MMS led Interior Secretary Salazar to state that the report "is further evidence of the cozy relationship between some elements of MMS and the oil and gas industry."
This is what happens when bribes disguised as campaign contributions are considered free speech. This is what happens when capitalism is allowed to supersede Democracy. And since under capitalism people are encouraged to act in their own best interest, some will pursue the all-mighty dollar and disregard what is good for our nation. Under this system it is reasonable to suspect that BP has done a cost-benefit analysis that showed them that it is in their own best interests to let the oil spill rather than permanently sealing off a well that cost millions to drill. If capitalism could lead to this kind of behavior in our government and the big corporations, shouldn't we ask whether unfettered capitalism is good for America? Can we truly serve two masters?
Capitalism is an economic system where the means of production are privately owned; prices are set by market forces; and the profits are distributed to owners who invest in businesses and have taken the risk of losing those investments. But as we have recently seen with President Bush's bank bailout this is simply not the case in America. If owners are big enough, they risk nothing because their investments are insured with taxpayer dollars.
So don't be surprised when the "too influential to ignore" oil companies are bailed out when their lobbyists, aided by their bought and paid for Congressmen and Senators, succeed in capping their liabilities leaving the gulf coast region devastated. And as time passes, we will see how the influence that the oil profits have paid for led to this disaster as further reports of government regulators turning a blind eye in exchange for gifts and financial compensation emerge.
Robert Betances
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
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