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BOEHNER WANTS YOU TO PICK UP THE TAB.... Tom Donohue, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, raised a few eyebrows last week when he addressed the costs of the BP oil spill disaster. While President Obama and congressional Democrats have been emphasizing the need for the oil giant to pay for its own catastrophe, Donohue said he wanted to spread the burden around.
"Everybody is going to contribute to this clean up; we are all going to have to do it," he said. "We are going to have to get the money from the government and from the companies and we will figure out a way to do that."
And when Donohue says "money from the government," that necessarily means money from American taxpayers. When he says "we" are "all" going to have to bear the financial burden, Donohue is suggesting the public and BP split the tab.
In response to a question from TPMDC, House Minority Leader John Boehner backed Tom Donohue, President of the Chamber of Commerce, in saying taxpayers should help pick up the tab.
"I think the people responsible in the oil spill -- BP and the federal government -- should take full responsibility for what's happening there." [...]
The Chamber is extremely influential in Republican politics, so on that level it's not particularly surprising that Boehner has Donohue's back on this one. But the politics of asking the federal government (i.e. taxpayers) to help cover the multi-billion dollar cleanup and rescue efforts are deadly. Look for Democrats to jump all over this one.
Uh...did you even bother to read this? He clearly said "BP and the Federal government".
Considering that the Feds have collected an 8 cent per barrel tax to cover the costs of oil spill disasters (for a cumulative amount to date of $1.5B) - why shouldn't the Feds spend some of the money collected to cover the costs of oil spills on an actual oil spill?
We have Already Picked Up The Tab - which the Feds are bogarting.
Because they have taxed oil for years to create a pool of money to deal with disasters.
Perhaps by 'federal government paying' they meant all those who were complicit in the culture of corruption at MMS. Works for me.
Because they have taxed oil for years to create a pool of money to deal with disasters.
So we should have half the bill? As much as the federal government has taxed oil for years according to you, that doesn't mean we have half the money waiting in storage.
For someone who complains about giving $400 billion to the Palis, you certainly have no problem giving what is essentially a bailout to BP.
I've already posted this in other threads, but here we go again:
Job one right now is containing the spill and preventing more damage Arguing over who is paying for what is pointless at best, and self-destructive at worst.
If a proper investigation once the mess is contained and cleaned up yields reliable evidence that the entire disaster is BP's fault, then the government can use legal remedies to collect.
BP actually owns only 65% of the oil well, btw. Where is the hysteria to hold the other 35% owners accountable?
The pretext of the tax was to fund quick and effective action in event of an oil spill. I personally find it fraudulent for the government to collect a tax to deal with oil spill disasters and then refuse to expend the funds to prevent as much damage as possible.
There is nothing wrong with our politicians forcing taxpayers to bail-out their favorite corporations. That's the American way.
What you are overlooking is this fact. The U.S. government is responsible to a degree....we gave BP the license and approved their drilling plan without an adequate back up plan for a disaster....hence...where we are today.
What you are overlooking is this fact. The U.S. government is responsible to a degree....we gave BP the license and approved their drilling plan without an adequate back up plan for a disaster....hence...where we are today.
There's also the consideration of what is the proper role of government. Doggie the Bubble Mod often confuses conservative belief in limited government with anarchical lack of government.
It is proper for the government to deal with large scale disasters which are beyond the scope of a local / state community. The U.S. government has assets (usually military related) which can serve a dual purpose for disaster mitigation. We've paid for them - why not use them, especially when TAXES HAVE BEEN COLLECTED to cover such incidents.
