I was just watching Countdown and, in typical breathless Olbermann fashion, they were reporting on a proposed “deal” whereby BP would agree not to pay a dividend if, somehow, the federal government turned down the rhetorical heat. This is apparently BP’s idea, and it is reported that it is unlikely to fly.
Apparently the new British PM is putting heat on Obama to turn down the heat on BP. Supposedly, the British government is concerned because BP is one of its largest corporations, and if BP tanks, it could affect the pensions of millions of Britons.
It appears to be the too big to fail argument, applied to an oil company. As always, in order to justify helping the corporation, we will start hearing about the collateral harm-the harm to pensioners, in this instance. We will be told that BP deserves a bailout, either directly, or indirectly by relieving it of liability, in order to help these poor innocent pensioners.
So, to help the pensioners, in one way or another we will have to funnel money through BP, where a certain amount of it, for that’s how these things work, will wind up as bonuses for the folks who destroyed the Gulf of Mexico. After all, they need their lives back. It would never occur to the powers that be that it would be more efficient to just bail out the pensioners, and leave BP to fend for itself.
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