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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (81483)	6/17/2010 12:46:56 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Just like with the financial meltdown on Wall Street you can bet that U.S. taxpayers will be paying for part of the cost of BP's reckless oil spill...BP doesn't have all the resources it will take to come close to covering all the damages (which I feel could greatly exceed the cost of Hurricane Katrina). By my calculations, IF the relief wells are in place by 8/31, using the updated spill flow rates as of today (35,000 to 60,000 bpd) and the min/max U.S. government fines ($1100/$4300 per barrel), BP will owe fines ranging from $5 to $34 billion. Note that these are just the fines under one law. This does not include the escalating cleanup costs, the lost revenue of the fishing and tourism industries, the unemployment compensation that the states will have to pay to those put out of work, or fines under other U.S. laws. A $20 billion escrow fund hardly seems adequate. And notice that BP did not agree to pay all of the $20 Billion in 2010 - they want to pay it out in installments over a few years.