BP should not pay a dime to any government escrow account

Op-Ed June 14, 2010 http://www.thehcc.tv/

Rumors from Washington indicate that the Obama administration will press BP to pay
billions of dollars into a “third party escrow account” that will then by distributed to
struggling fishermen and other citizens impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil leak
catastrophe. Funds that would otherwise have gone to shareholders in the form of
dividends would be diverted to this escrow account. Ostensibly, this may seem like a
good idea given that BP has done very little so far to process individual claims, but would
this government-run escrow account really deliver the cash to the citizens in need, or
would the money vanish into a black hole of State and municipal bank accounts?

The U.S. taxpayer funded the largest stimulus plan in history last year with the $787
billion ARRA. Prior to that, the banks received a massive bailout with the $700 Billion
TARP. Moreover, the social security fund has been raided over the years and all that's
left are musty IOUs. Where all of that money went is unknown. Few private sector
grants or jobs were created from ARRA or TARP, and unemployment has continued to
rise to 10%, with the real number of people out of work likely much higher.

The Treasury and Federal Reserve have resisted requests to itemize how the ARRA and
TARP money was spent. Many speculate that the bulk of the funds were absorbed by
States and cities with large budget deficits struggling to pay for the salaries and huge
union pensions of the public employees. Whether true or not, it is hard to argue that the
federal government should be trusted to properly administer a new multi-billion dollar
fund meant to be distributed to the individual private citizen rather than bureaucrats and
unions.

There is the greater question of why set up additional funds when we have one that is not
being exploited in a way that matches the magnitude of this disaster. The Oil Spill
Liability Trust Fund was established after the Oil Spill Act was signed into law in
1990. It is funded through an $0.08 a barrel fee that adds as much as $0.19 to each gallon
of gasoline we use. The fund also received $550.0 million from a variety of pollution
funds and gains between $4 to $7.0 million a year in penalties to the industry.

These funds could be used to help the Gulf fishermen and others meet daily financial
obligations. According to the Environmental Protection Agency "when the responsible
party is unknown or refuses to pay, funds from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund can be
used to cover removal costs or damages resulting from dischargers of oil." Currently the
Oil Spill fund collects $667,000 a day. Let us put that money to work to help people now,
not create a new fund that will be hobbled by layers of bureaucracy and confusion.

While it is true that BP has shown gross negligence, incompetence, and intent to mislead
in the handling of the biggest environmental disaster in American history, BP should not
be required to pay a red cent to any government fund. Instead, the federal response
agencies should do their jobs and force BP to process all individual claims expeditiously
and fairly, with the fear of criminal prosecution for failing to do so.

Written by:

Steven Greer, MD
Founder & CEO
The Healthcare Channel
http://www.thehcc.tv

Charles Payne
Fox Business Network contributor
Founder & CEO
Wall Street Strategies
http://www.wstreet.com/