From the onset of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, conservatives have criticized President Obama for not solving the disaster created by their beloved free market.
Republican leaders, whose usual mantra is to decry government involvement, claim Obama has devoted too little attention to the problem, ignored fantastic solutions, not visited the affected region enough, and acted too cool and impassionate. In fact, the president’s instincts are right on target. As he reiterated in last week’s speech, Obama is squarely focused on the source of the problem.
BP caused the environmental disaster, and the law of the land says the polluter pays. There are liability issues at stake as BP lawyers are undoubtedly looking for ways to cast outside blame and deny compensation. By ensuring BP sets up a fund which will be controlled by an independent third party, the bulk of the damages can go to the Gulf Coast workers and businesses that will be most affected over the long run.
There is no magic bullet. The only real solution is a relief well, which takes time.
Obama has visited the Gulf region four times; the issue is constantly on his agenda. But, he is the leader of the free world, and this tragedy may, unfortunately, be eclipsed by even more pressing issues.
The president had no choice but to rely on BP’s data on the size of the oil spill. Unfortunately, this is how the regulatory framework operates in the United States, particularly in the oil industry. By allowing the free market to govern itself, all information comes from companies that have an incentive to hide or distort information.
Unfortunately, the president’s control in such circumstances will always be limited due to the influence-peddling abilities the U.S. Supreme Court handed big business, and, particularly, oil companies when they blocked a ban on corporate political spending. This greasy mess is now bigger than all of us.
Rafael Reuveny is a professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University in Bloomington.
