"First the Spill, then the Lawsuits"

The shysters and ambulance chasers will come out of the woodwork for this one. BP could make a lot of points if they somehow stopped the leak, cleaned up the mess AND got rid of all the lawyers!

'...The shysters and ambulance chasers will come out of the woodwork for this one. BP could make a lot of points if they somehow stopped the leak, cleaned up the mess AND got rid of all the lawyers!...'

Regrettably, BP's real strategy for 'making a lot of points', likely involves hiring bloggers to drum up sympathy for BP, painting the company as maligned and unfairly persecuted. By labeling as "green', or 'greenpeace type', anyone who does not agree that BP deserves protection, these bloggers will aggressively defend BP, and in many cases drum up support.

I can hear it now....

''....'Poor BP! Won't all you weirdos who are concerned about the environmental damage of the still not contained spill stop picking on this poor poor company???? All they have done is potentially ruin a large swath of the ocean (and source of food among other things) for the near future, and then mishandled the response.... anyone could have done that! Anyone! Give BP a break! They certainly deserve kudos for the fine job!'....'

Quote 'Regrettably, BP's real strategy for 'making a lot of points', likely involves hiring bloggers to drum up sympathy for BP, painting the company as maligned and unfairly persecuted. By labeling as "green', or 'greenpeace type', anyone who does not agree that BP deserves protection, these bloggers will aggressively defend BP, and in many cases drum up support.' They are fairly well matched by the fools on the net of the greenpeace persuasion that have no idea what they are talking about but want to make BP disappear today. Let BP get done with the mess and into court for the charges against them (real charges by the government - not the trial lawyers). I expect they will be in real deep stuff.

The real tragedy here is not what happens to BP, but what happens to the rest of us. First of all, BP I am sure has some pretty good insurance to help mitigate the risks involved in this sort of thing- and when insurance companies have to pay out, then insurance rates go up for all of us. This is also going to drive up the cost of energy for all of us- as things settle down, oil companies are going to have to spend more on insurance and safety systems designed by bureaucrats rather than engineers, that do nothing to mitigate risk, but will ultimately reduce oil company liability ("We met all of the legal requirements.").

BP now faces a minimum liability of $40 billion. They have something like $12 billion in cash. The liabilities could well exceed $100 billion- possibly ultimately exceeding the net worth of all of BP. If BP is destroyed, who pays? A good deal of the "ownership" of BP is in mutual funds- retirement incomes for many not even remotely connected to the problem. What impact will this have on your retirement hopes? If BP is brought to its knees and driven into receivership, one no longer has a target to blame for the continued cost of cleanup- which means your taxes will go up to pay for the clean up- a cleanup by a government that has already admitted it does not have the technology to deal with such a catastrophe. BP may disappear, but most likely, the assets will be sold for pennies on the dollar, but the buyers of the assets will not be willing to buy any assets encumbered with undefined liabilities- again, leaving government (i.e., the rest of us) to pick up the cost of cleanup. The employees of BP will most likely be absorbed by other oil companies, and they will not be hurt. Hayward could most likely retire tomorrow and live out his life in real comfort, whether one is able to hold him personally responsible or not (not likely). As to Mr. Obama's idea of sacking Hayward- one does not change horses in the middle of the stream. Loss of leadership at this point could easily magnify the problems, not solve them.

With regards to those directly impacted by the spill, it is very unlikely that they will recover anything near the actual economic cost they have sustained. Similar to what happens if one's house burns down, or one's auto is destroyed in an accident- insurane generally does not provide replacement costs, only a percentage of the total loss...

The only thing that is going to come from all of this is that a very few lawyers are going to get filthy rich off of this. Those who join the pending lawsuits might realize maybe 30% of the awards if they win their claims- the rest will go to the lawyers. And ultimately, that 60% that goes to the lawyers is coming out of our pockets...

Obama's comment about sacking Hayward was more than silly. Shows exactly how much he understands - only the grandstanding part.

Like you said, changing horses at this date would be bad and the only ones capable of stepping into the position would be his assistants (cohorts in crime).

İt will be messy and like Enron - the guys with Enron stock in their pension plans were the ones that really lost.

We're not talking about a hot cup of coffee in the lap. The shrimpers, oyster farmers, tour operators, restaurants, everyone living within 50 miles of the coast... are all supposed to shrug off the complete destruction of their livelihood?

This event could bankrupt BP. I don't see why that would be wrong.

1. Bankrupting BP shifts the costs to innocent people (including unaffected US Taxpayers) and transfers most of the available assets to the pockets of a few vulture lawyers, without providing much relief for the sufferers.

2. If BP disappears, who is going to clean up the mess?

Many are ready to cut off their noses to spite their faces!

The point is not to destroy BP, TransOcean and/or Halliburton, but if it happens as a result, so be it. The disaster is one of their making, not the ambulance chaser's.

Maybe if they stuffed enough lawyers into the top of the BOP it would stop the flow. We have plenty and there is certainly no reason to stop until the supply is totally exhausted. Politicians should have the honor of being first! Let the prez kick it off!

YES, YES! What a great idea. Let's do whatever we can to shift blame away from BP.

The politicians created this spill! Oh, and the trial lawyers too!

This is when you decide to champion tort reform?!? To protect a corporate giant who's negligence has unleashed incredible damage on the environment that will take decades to correct (if ever)?!?

The lack of tort reform has stifled innovation, driven up costs of everything (substantially) from Health Care to Auto Insurance to aspirin, and has negative impacts on employment and wages. .............. And you decide to call out the perversity of the system NOW? Just for BP????

A new general surgeon, entering private practice pays on average well in excess of $100,000 in mandatory malpractice insurance...the very first year. This amount ramps up substantially every year for the first couple years and then the rate increase moderates. You are smart enough to realize this translates directly into significant cost for the consumer...RIGHT?

So while you whine and moan that that BP is being unfairly attacked by the trial lawyers and liberals and Green-types, the treatment in exactly what the rest of us have been working with and paying for all along. It would be exactly unfair if BP were somehow exempt from the same hurdles and risks the rest of us live with.

Quit your yammering. So you have a woody for BP.... keep it in your pants. It doesn't make for good argument.

BBB

@ Guest - you are a clown hiding under the 'guest' title? Not enough hanging to use your name?

BP will get it's due in time and in court - vigilante justice is useless and accomplishes nothing. The brain dead bunch leading the population in the attack against BP today are just weaklings enjoying playing the part of a bully.

You sound like our dear president who is still trying to decide 'whose a** to kick! Of course when he does he would have to send others to do it - wouldn't do to have people see the president cry - typical lawyer.

BBB - You could have a good mental contest with a stone and more than likely come out second best!