Oil spill “claims” should be legit
To the editor:
The oil spill in the upper Gulf is indeed a sad moment in our modern history,
yet to see people chasing “claims” when the impact of the oil on their lives is
negligible, or nonexistent, is even more deplorable for it underscores our
increasing need to blame others for societal conditions; conditions that are a
result of our mutual choices.
Last week, I read several local articles and one solicitation for folks making a
claim against BP to share their experiences to make it easier for the next
person in the claims line to get a share of what most seem to think is an
inexhaustible pot of Big Oil money.
Kenneth Feinberg, who will be overseeing the claims process for the Obama
Administration recently said the money should go to those who really suffered direct losses from the ongoing spill. Folks like fisherman, energy workers and people living where the oil is coming ashore on their lands and businesses. He says, correctly, that there are limits to who should be able to receive money.
If someone on our Island says their property values have went down because of the negativity attached to the catastrophe should they be paid? This argument can be extended ad infinitum but it quickly becomes indefensible. It’s like saying all those who own property in the upper Adirondacks should be compensated from northeastern power companies because of acid rain.
You see, as our society has advanced we have all reaped the benefits and now, like in this instance, we should mutually absorb many of the detriments. This is not to say BP shouldn’t pay and pay heavily – they should – but we must look inward and decide where our personal responsibility lies. Most of us like the benefits our petrochemical society provides some of us just don’t want to pay any costs. We live in an era of entitlements when an ever-decreasing number of producers are paying for an ever-increasing number of non-producers who feel that, by living here alone, they are entitled to the good life without regard to personal responsibility.
Carl Conley
Fort Myers Beach