Is Obama behaving like a Dictator?

by Cagefighter 38 Replies latest social current

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  JWoods

  All I am saying is doesn't it scare anyone that the President can just demand this kind of money? Does BP have insurance for this does anyone care?

  It should be scaring (and I think it is) the pension holders in England who depend on BP revenue. No, BP does not have insurance for it due to the liability cap law which was IIRC only about 250 million.

  What I am thinking is that this is a first step to push BP into bankruptcy and from there Obama can take over U.S. assets of it like he did GM and Chrysler - neither of those was really by law, but it is not too hard when the company is hopelessly going under.
• 

  undercover

  I'm not an expert but my first thought was what if BP goes under due to the fallout from all this? Who's gonna pay the 20 billion then?

  And if they declare bankruptcy in US courts will they then be protected from paying it?

  I'm all for the government holding BP to task for this and to require them to pony up every penny that it costs to clean up the mess and to aid the coastal regions that will be affected for decades....I just don't know that declaring it is the same as making it happen, especially when there are so many variables.
• 

  RubaDub

  It is really getting scary with Obama as President/Dictator.

  Now when my wife goes to Victoria's Secret to buy new thongs, they only come in blue/grey and army fatigue.

  Rub a Dub
• 

  undercover

  army fatigue thongs...

  doesn't that mean you can't see them
• 

  Cagefighter

  What would have made more sense to me is something along the lines of this...

  Obama making an agreement to waive certain fines and penalities that are coming in exchange for BP paying claims in a expedious manner without litigation. I don't even have a problem with a 3rd party being set up to oversee it. But to simply demand cash is crazy. The problem is this is all premature. The leak hasn't been stopped we can't even begin to estimate damage until then.
• 

  RubaDub

  army fatigue thongs...

  doesn't that mean you can't see them

  True ...

  but you can still taste them

  Rub a Dub
• 

  SixofNine

  But to simply demand cash is crazy.

  But of course that's not an accurate description of this agreement.

  The problem is this is all premature.

  Not in the least.
• 

  BizzyBee

  But to simply demand cash is crazy. The problem is this is all premature.

  Tell that to the people of the Gulf states who have bills to pay each month, mouths to feed and businesses going under. Wait for the slow wheels of bureaucracyto grind out some checks? That is a heartless and insensitive response to people who are already suffering. Lives and livelihoods are being destroyed as we speak. Clearly you are (or think you are) among those who are not affected by this disaster. Yet.
• 

  BizzyBee

  If you still don't get it:

  Obama had no actual power to compel that aside from moral suasion and the threat of having an unhappy president. Legally, BP could have just waited for the lawsuits and drawn the whole thing out for years. As a lawyer, I find it a unique and mind-boggling accomplishment. So, Obama comes along, says "set up a 20 billion fund, have an independent administrator in charge, and start paying damages." He had no power to order that. But BP said, "yes, sir." And it was done.