Justice
If this country and its government were not so thoroughly in the pocket of the corporations, this is what I would like to see vis á vis BP.
1. A determination that the ecological and economic damage caused by the oil spill is incalculably large.
2. An assignment of an effectively infinite amount of liquidated damages. (Yes, this seems to be a contradiction in terms, since liquidated damages are there to quantify the incalculable, but let's just set it at a penny for each atom in the affected area.)
3. A determination that BP is unable and will never be able to pay these damages.
4. The filing of an involuntary bankruptcy petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
5. The assignment of a U.S. Trustee to run the company, replacing current management.
6. The continuing operation of BP, with 95% of its current workforce.
7. The use of all BP profits, without accounting tricks of any kind, to be used to remediate the direct and indirect destruction the company has caused and will cause, in perpetuity.
What about the shareholders, I hear you cry? What about government expropriation? Well, BP screwed up big time -- just like any company that goes bankrupt. Shareholders accept the risk of that happening. Expropriation? We're talking about a government that, even now, effectively owns a couple of car companies, and all the companies did was to build a whole bunch of worthless cars and trucks.
But, obviously, none of this will ever happen. It's a MoveOn fantasy. If the financiers who stripped the security from the lives of my friends and relations are still enjoying life and collecting their bonuses, there is every reason to expect that the proprietors of BP will be doing the same in a couple of years. They may just have a choice of fewer beach spots for their vacations.
1. A determination that the ecological and economic damage caused by the oil spill is incalculably large.
2. An assignment of an effectively infinite amount of liquidated damages. (Yes, this seems to be a contradiction in terms, since liquidated damages are there to quantify the incalculable, but let's just set it at a penny for each atom in the affected area.)
3. A determination that BP is unable and will never be able to pay these damages.
4. The filing of an involuntary bankruptcy petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
5. The assignment of a U.S. Trustee to run the company, replacing current management.
6. The continuing operation of BP, with 95% of its current workforce.
7. The use of all BP profits, without accounting tricks of any kind, to be used to remediate the direct and indirect destruction the company has caused and will cause, in perpetuity.
What about the shareholders, I hear you cry? What about government expropriation? Well, BP screwed up big time -- just like any company that goes bankrupt. Shareholders accept the risk of that happening. Expropriation? We're talking about a government that, even now, effectively owns a couple of car companies, and all the companies did was to build a whole bunch of worthless cars and trucks.
But, obviously, none of this will ever happen. It's a MoveOn fantasy. If the financiers who stripped the security from the lives of my friends and relations are still enjoying life and collecting their bonuses, there is every reason to expect that the proprietors of BP will be doing the same in a couple of years. They may just have a choice of fewer beach spots for their vacations.