It is impossible to understand why an accident likethe Deepwater Horizon disaster was inevitable without looking back on an erawhen the energy industry dominated government. The oil bidness, as it is knownaffectionately in Texas,could do no wrong under the Bush-Cheney administration, which was run by formeroil executives and their lobbyists. Remember that among the top priorities ofthe secretive energy task force run by Vice President Dick Cheney was relieffor Big Oil from "burdensome" environmental regulations.
As The NewYork Times reported recently, the Washingtonzeal for deregulation let offshore oil drilling proceed virtually withoutinterference from government, even though scientists and engineers repeatedlyraised safety and environmental concerns over the past decade. Warnedspecifically that the blowout-prevention technology drillers were relying on toavoid an explosive spill was faulty as long ago as 2000, the oil industry didnothing except to drill deeper.
As for the Minerals Management Service (MMS), theInterior Department agency responsible for overseeing the drilling operations,it did nothing, eitherexcept to reduce its inspections of safety equipment.Presumably, the MMS failed to act because it was infested with crookedofficials who actually took drugs and engaged in sexual relationships with oilindustry personneland accepted bribes from them, too. The oil industry wasallowed to drill, baby, drill wherever it wanted, often without even payingroyalties to the federal government.
But the culture of American government, from theexecutive branch to Congress and even the judiciary, has been infected with adisease deeper than corruption: an ideological deference to corporate power, inthe name of "free markets" and efficiency, that enriches a wealthyfew at the expense of the nation. While this pattern can be detected acrossmany sectors of the economy, its effects are now felt most acutely in thefinancial and energy sectors, whose power over government is legendary.
Such an imbalanced system encourages financial firmsto take enormous risks, pocket the profits and let the taxpayers, workers andcommunities suffer the consequences. And the same system encourages oilcompanies to take enormous risks of a different kind, resist strictenvironmental requirements, book huge profitsand then let the rest of us copewith the consequences of their devastating pollution (although we can hope thatBP will pay for at least part of the Gulf cleanup).
Corporate Profits Trump Safety and NaturalResources
Free-market ideologues and other corporate shillsinsist that this is the most efficient way to do business, which is true enoughfor a corporate manager or a stockholder. But it isn't very efficient for thenation whose public wealth, natural resources and future prosperity aredepleted by these ruinous practices.
In America,we have been told for more than three decades that there is indeed no other wayto run an economyand certainly not if we wish to preserve our traditionalfreedoms. But looking around the world, it's easy to see through those oldplatitudes. Countries that impose stronger regulation on their financialsectors did not endure the same kind of disruption we didand emerged moreswiftly from the recession. Countries that impose strict oversight on theirenergy sectors, including offshore drilling, are exemplary in protecting workerand environmental safety.
The world's best record on offshore oil is enjoyedby Norway, a free anddemocratic country where North Sea oilprovides not only a major source of employment, but the funding for universalhealth care, education and a panoply of other important benefits. In Norway, oildrillers are expected to implement the most advanced systems of environmentalprotection. That's because the Norwegian people own the oiland the oilmenanswer to them.
%uFFFD 2010Creators.com
