We will be waiting a long time if we expect BP, one of the largest corporations in the world to just fork over billions of dollars because of the guilt they feel. The Obama government has to make them clean up oil spill damage done to the Gulf of Mexico by whatever means necessary. It will probably require a special act of congress or a presidential executive order before this giant conglomerate will actually admit to their mammoth blunder and start to somehow atone for the disastrous results of the massive oil spill, one of the biggest, if not the largest in the history of the planet. A plan to clean up oil spill runoff into the swamps and wildlife preserve is yet to be completely formulated and the Obama administration has to get in there and demand that this giant company face up to its fiscal and moral responsibilities.
Many thousands have lost their livelihoods due to the disaster and many thousands more have slipped below the poverty line at a time when the economy is already reeling from massive bailouts of the financial industry. Many fishermen who can't feed or clothe their own families now that fishing is next to impossible wonder where their government bailout will come. They truly wonder if BP (British Petroleum) will own up to the big price tag of fixing and re-establishing the ocean and wetlands so that they the fishermen can get back to doing what they have done for years to support their families. In order to clean up oil spill damage they know that money will not be enough, no matter the amount eventually paid. They also acknowledge that the community of those most affected must pool their own strength and resources and clean up oil spill damaged beaches, wetlands, creatures, and the gulf itself.
Of course the fishermen and others whose livelihoods have been destroyed also realize that some of them could come out with big settlements once the dust settles. A slew of lawsuits have already been filed and many more are gathering steam, information and signatures before being filed. BP is very concerned but it is such a gigantic corporation with so much cash in reserve for just such a catastrophe that any monies that they do end up dishing out will seem like chump change compared to the irreparable damage that the spill has caused. BP will do what all corporations do of course and that is to protect the bottom line for their investors and stockholders. They will fight tooth and nail to pay as little as possible when the claims come rolling in.
This is where the government must step in and represent the interests of the people not just the big corporations. This is a huge opportunity for politicians to finally do the right thing. But fishermen and other business people that have been affected by this oil spill are not holding their breath waiting for BP to help them. They know that first they will have to help themselves and fight with all of their might against business as usual.
