Gulf coast oil spill

[Lamplighter]

Just heard on TV another attack on Obama's handling of the oil spill.

Business people along the coast are saying the BP fund to reimburse them
for losses due to the spill are taking too long to get the $ out to them.
They say that a lot of their businesses are on a "cash basis" so
they don't have receipts to show how much they made last year.

Maybe if they had paid taxes on all of that "cash basis" income...

[classicman]

Yup - I believe we talked about that awhile ago. Might have been in the other thread on the same subject.
There is no way these people are going to get reimbursed without tax receipts.

[classicman]

Oh, and there was a nice followup CNN this am about it being the 6 month anniversary of the spill. They were discussing how much still needs to be done, polluted beaches, wildlife, still 16,000sq miles of the gulf closed to fishing...

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Just heard on TV another attack on Obama's handling of the oil spill.

Business people along the coast are saying the BP fund to reimburse them
for losses due to the spill are taking too long to get the $ out to them.
They say that a lot of their businesses are on a "cash basis" so
they don't have receipts to show how much they made last year.

Maybe if they had paid taxes on all of that "cash basis" income...

Why attack Obama for that? It sounds like a problem with BP.

[classicman]

I read that as two separate points.

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by classicman

I read that as two separate points.

I read it as haiku.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by classicman

I read that as two separate points.

Really?

[classicman]

Yes.
1) Attack ad

Business people along the coast are saying the BP fund to reimburse them
for losses due to the spill are taking too long to get the $ out to them.

Obama took over this and appointed a rep to handle it. He is responsible now, not BP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2)

Maybe if they had paid taxes on all of that "cash basis" income...

People scamming the system not paying taxes now aren't getting what they
think they should or its taking too long .... whatever..

Two separate points related, but different.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by classicman

Yes.
1) Attack ad

Obama took over this and appointed a rep to handle it. He is responsible now, not BP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2)

People scamming the system not paying taxes now aren't getting what they
think they should or its taking too long .... whatever..

Two separate points related, but different.

I misunderstood. I thought you were separating

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

Why attack Obama for that?

from

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

It sounds like a problem with BP.

[classicman]

When the Gov't took over control of the fund, they basically absolved BP from any
responsibility of distributing the funds. If things are going slowly, it is the fault of
those in control. That is the Gov't not BP.

[Lamplighter]

As I read the setup and administration of the "BP fund",
I got the sense that the $ were actually still belonging with BP,
but that Obama selected Feinberg to be an independent administrator.

Although Feinberg could probably be removed by Obama,
I got the sense that the policies of distributing $ were those set up by BP.

With all that, it is still easier to just blame Obama for everything.

Wall Street Journal

BP Fund Administrator Promises Speedy Claims Payout
By ANGEL GONZALEZ
JUNE 18, 2010, 6:48 P.M. ET

The government-appointed administrator of BP PLC's $20 billion fund for oil-spill damage
said Friday that he would run his own show as he seeks to improve the claims process set up by the company.

"This is a program that has my imprimatur on it, not the administration or BP,"
Kenneth Feinberg said at a joint press conference with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
"It is my program as an independent force."
<snip>

[TheMercenary]

The WSJ had a good follow up article yesterday that discussed how the money is now coming in faster and the struggle the folks went through to get what they are owed, but apparently they are getting paid.

[classicman]

What he found when he took over the BP fund on Aug. 23, he says, was staggering: data in disarray, duplicate claims, identical claims under different names and thousands of claims with inadequate or no documentation.

Gee fraud and greed? Color me shocked - not.

Mr. Feinberg said that the British oil giant, which is responsible for the spill that began two months ago, deserves "credit" for setting up a claims program quickly, and that he would seek to improve the "efficiency, the speed and the fairness of that program."

That'll never make the 6:00 news.

The government-appointed administrator of BP PLC's $20 billion fund for oil-spill damage said Friday that he would run his own show as he seeks to improve the claims process set up by the company.

BP is off the hook.

"This is a program that has my imprimatur on it, not the administration or BP," Kenneth Feinberg said at a joint press conference with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. "It is my program as an independent force."

He may be the administrator, but he certainly has to answer to someone and that can only be those who appointed him.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by classicman

BP is off the hook.

It's Obama's fault

[classicman]

ultimately, yeh I guess you could say that.