by Ken Van Doren
George W. Bush once said of the economy, “I destroyed the free market in order to save it.” Not true, as we did not have a true free market, and he did not save the elements of freedom still in it. And no, “The Annointed One” did not say the above quote, but perhaps could some day.
Some strange coincidences and pertinent questions:
* Goldman Sachs dumps 4.68 million shares of BP; and BP CEO dumps 1.4 million shares in the weeks before the spill. Why?
* The Jones act prohibits foreign ships from carrying oil in US waters. Therefore it is illegal for skimming ships, and oil tankers flagged by other nations that might be free, to come to US waters to contain the spill. WHY was not a waiver passed on this immediately? Was it more important to save union jobs than contain the spill?
* Why were the offers of the Dutch and at least 19 others to help with the spill rejected by this administration?
* WHY did the Coast Guard prohibit a protective boom from being placed across a harbor entrance in Florida that would have spared the harbor much if not all of the pollution?
* WHY did the EPA delay approval of building protective barrier reefs in Louisiana? Why did they so limit the number of said reefs?
* WHY did the Coast Guard stop a ship sanctioned by the state of Louisiana from siphoning up the spilled oil? Because of LIFE PRESERVERS? Would it not be easy enough to confirm adequate numbers, and for the ship to secure same if they did not?
* And WHY did Congress limit BP/Deepwater Horizon’s financial exposure to less than $150 million? (In fairness, it must be mentioned that this happened years ago, under another administration.) No doubt the perceived low penalty was part of the calculus in taking the risks that resulted in the spill. True, BP has agreed to pay much more, but that is probably to head off legislative retaliation, and for the privilege to continue doing business in the US.
Note also that said agreement was obtained outside the bounds of due process, leaves the fund and its use up to the discretion of the President. Will he use it for POLITICAL purposes, rather than to make whole those who were damaged by the spill? Congressman Bart Stupak gives us a hint, suggesting that the fund may be used to promote Obamacare.
And note also that the above is but a partial list of strange coincidences and actions or inactions of the Big Federal government that made this situation worse. Does it not border on insanity to think that more rules, and more bureaucrats can be the answer, when the government did not enforce the rules it already has, and that most of what government has done has exacerbated, not ameliorated the situation?
WHY? I do not believe it strains credulity in the least to suggest that this administration wanted a bad bad spill to result, so that pressure may better be brought to bear to end, or severely limit, off shore oil drilling. Note that when similar, if smaller spills have occurred in the North Sea, Persian gulf and other places, the environmental damage was contained by the use of the skimmers denied access to our waters. In fact, such overseas equipment WAS used to contain the damage in Prudhoe Bay when the Exxon Valdez ran aground.
And we are already seeing this incident being used as a justification for the economy-killing “cap and tax” legislation that the left has been promoting all along. So is the intent to make this really bad so as not to “waste a good crisis” and use it for political effect? Or is this just a demonstration of the corruption and/or incompetence of the Obama administration, and a hamhanded attempt that will backfire? Or a bit of all of the above? Could it be that the administration will not be able to contain the political damage it has done to itself, any more than they have contained the oil spill?
The ultimate irony in all this has to be that BP, friend of Democrats and left wing politics, self described “Green” oil company (a claim refuted years ago by Reason Magazine) and its contractor are responsible for what may well be the biggest man made environmental disaster of all time.