toldailytopic: Seize BP: should the government seize the assets and take control over

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Nathon Detroit

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The TheologyOnline.com TOPIC OF THE DAY for June 18th, 2010 10:59 AM


toldailytopic: Seize BP: should the government seize the assets and take control over British Petroleum?






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Town Heretic

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toldailytopic: Seize BP: should the government seize the assets and take control over British Petroleum?

:think: Depends. Would they be hiring?

Nah. I'd say oversee to make sure their profit margin considerations aren't overwhelming any other, but they have a vested interest in getting this done and with the penalty phase already under way, what more motivation could anyone need? If the government thinks it has anything that could hasten the end of this nightmare let them add it to the mix.
 

Nathon Detroit

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There is a movement in the nation attempting to convince the Obama administration to seize the assets of BP.

From the Sieze BP website...

The government of the United States must seize BP and freeze its assets, and place those funds in trust to begin providing immediate relief to the working people throughout the Gulf states whose jobs, communities, homes and businesses are being harmed or destroyed by the criminally negligent actions of the CEO, Board of Directors and senior management of BP.​

That has to be the dumbest idea in the history of dumb ideas.


I think everyone can agree that BP has done a horrible job dealing with their oil spill in the gulf, however the only group that has done a worse job dealing with the spill has been the US government and we want to turn BP over the them??? Are you kidding me???

Not to mention the fact that the government shouldn't have the right to freeze the assets of corporation and it's stock holders who are nothing more than people just like me and you (I personally have no dog in this fight because I don't own stock).

So.... what do YOU think? Should the government Seize BP??
 

bybee

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The TheologyOnline.com TOPIC OF THE DAY for June 18th, 2010 10:59 AM


toldailytopic: Seize BP: should the government seize the assets and take control over British Petroleum?






Take the topic above and run with it! Slice it, dice it, give us your general thoughts about it. Everyday there will be a new TOL Topic of the Day.
If you want to make suggestions for the Topic of the Day send a Tweet to @toldailytopic or @theologyonline or send it to us via Facebook.

I do not understand the ramifications of such an act. How would it affect the global economy? It is logical to me that one must look at long term consequences in attempts to right this terrible disaster. bybee
 

Aimiel

Well-known member
With the proven negligence, malfeasance and cavalier attitude of BP, as well as the huge mess they're making in the ocean right now and the large number of lives lost due to 'accidents' at BP facilities, they should have done so long ago. They have the worst safety record of any company operating in the United States of America, and are merely guests here in our country, being operated out of London, United Kingdom. You would think that being one of the largest oil companies would cause them to want to be one of the safest. You'd think a guest would show at the very least a little bit of courtesy in a foreign land, and attempt to not only show that their company deserves to visit here but would want to show themselves worthwhile, as representatives of their home-country. You'd think that being so big, safety would be a priority, at the very least. Not at BP.

BP's Safety Record Called into Question: BP fined record $87m for 'life-threatening' safety failings

BP's Cavalier Attitude Displayed: Who Died And Made BP King Of The Gulf Of Mexico?

It is ONLY in BP's interest to make use of 'dispersants' which are merely hiding the oil. It's either now on the bottom or floating around the gulf in microscopic droplets, which we don't know the effect of this oil, not to mention the effects of 'who-knows-what's-in-it' dispersant, being dumped by the ton into our ocean. If they were to not use dispersant, the public outcry at their lax handling of clean-up efforts would have already shut them down. Their murdering of workers should have long ago caused criminal charges being brought against them, and the eleven killed on board the Deepwater Horizon are only the latest to die in criminal acts of a criminal company, which hasn't changed one bit, and won't, without new management. If we're not going to do anything, and just wait and see what these criminals that call themselves executives are going to do about it, we're dumber than the Europeans and most of the rest of the world portrays us as. We're less intelligent than a box of rocks if we don't demand that our government do something drastic to a company who doesn't seem to be getting the message: "Fix the problems!!!" They believe what they're doing is none of our business, since we're all just 'small people' anyway.

This company won't learn anything from being fined or held liable, obviously, since it is cheaper to operate an un-safe business which does much faster more profitable work, and just pay any fines or cleanup costs after the fact; but it is at the cost of American lives, and now our shorelines and marine life as well as the livelihoods of countless tens of thousands of Americans, who depend on the sea, fishing or tourism to make a living, not to mention deep-sea drilling. The record of Exxon speaks for itself. They had one OSHA violation in 2008. BP had almost 300 in the same time-period. When will we actually ever do something which is effective at correcting these criminals? Nothing we've done so far has worked. It is time for drastic action.

I'm mad at our government, because it's broken; but I'm not ready to start a rebellion yet, since I don't believe it isn't fixable. Our local government is worse, IMHO, since I have to drive on streets covered with potholes each and every day, but I'm not ready to take over city hall and install people that will fix the problems just yet. BP has had way to many chances thrown at them which they've simply laughed at, all the way to the bank, which happens to be offshore. Enough is enough. We need to close their doors in the United States, for good. Boycotting isn't enough, they need all new management. If we're not going to seize control, we at least need to award running the company to a group of executives who will at the very least run a safe company. If we don't take them over, we at least need to put someone on their Safety Department which will have veto power, and be able to force the company to obey every single safety regulation there is. Until we realize that BP will never respond on their own and seize some sort of control over them the problems will continue.

I used to work for BP. I started with the Standard Oil Company of Ohio, which was the original and first oil company and was started by John Davison Rockefeller, who worked at a feed store, and kept barrels of oil and gasoline out back, to sell to passersby, in their newfangled horseless carriages. When his boss told him to get rid of the barrels, he started Standard with $100,000 of his own money and $100,000 from each of his nine friends. At one point he owned 100% of the world's oil. The company was broken up by the US Supreme Court twice, because the first time didn't stick. Rockefeller simply bought it back, through several relatives. The remaining company, Sohio, operated Sohio Procare, when I started working for them, on their launch date. Can't remember what year it was, but not long after we started ProCare, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, I remember that much. Anyway, I said all that to make my longest post ever even longer, but... eventually BP made Sohio an offer they couldn't refuse, and changed the things Sohio was doing (enhancing product sales through expertise and kindness) to reflect their strategy; which was the bottom line: profit. I hated every change they made, and the British Crown owned BP at the time. There were several lords and their entourage of Secret Service agents and personal bodyguards who visited our store in Sharonville, and it was one of the most insulting I've ever witnessed from adults. They were snobs, plain and simple. Since BP went public, their profit-first attitude has obviously only worsened. They're out-of-control and need to be reeled in to reality. They're reprehensible, and need to be punished, severely.
 

Nathon Detroit

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I'm mad at our government, because it's broken; but I'm not ready to start a rebellion yet
Uh... who said anything about rebelling against the government? :idunno:

All we are suggesting is that government shouldn't overstep it's boundaries and seize property. We are not a communist nation (at least not yet).

Seizing BP is wrong on so many level's that it's amazing that any American would actually think it's a wise idea. It's mind boggling that this idea is actually being taken seriously and just goes to show how far we have fallen as a nation.
 

Nathon Detroit

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One where safety regulations are taken a bit more seriously. One where worker safety is actually provided for, maybe? :idunno:
That's the very point that annabenedetti was making.

If you seize BP based on your criteria of safety regulations the government would set one of the worst precedents of all time and there would be no reason to stop them from seizing just about any company they wanted.

Aimiel, you need to rethink your stance on this issue. It's tragic.
 

TomO

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Aimiel, you need to rethink your stance on this issue. It's tragic.

I agree. :plain:

Amiel, I think you are letting your animosity toward the corporate structure (one which I understand more than you will ever know :chuckle: ), blind you to the realities of the matter.
 

Aimiel

Well-known member
Banks are constantly placed in FDIC receivership, which is the same thing as seizing their assets, essentially. You need to re-think what BP has already proven to us: they're irresponsible at managing their business, and need to be replaced.
 

Aimiel

Well-known member
Amiel, I think you are letting your animosity toward the corporate structure (one which I understand more than you will ever know :chuckle: ), blind you to the realities of the matter.
I'm not against corporate structure, having been an Executive Assistant to the CEO of a 40,000 member GE company, and seeing how they operate first-hand. It's ruthless and very profit-oriented; but worker safety needs to be top priority when a company operates any facility, especially one that operates dangerous equipment in the planet's most hostile environments.
 

Nathon Detroit

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Banks are constantly placed in FDIC receivership, which is the same thing as seizing their assets, essentially.
That isn't the same thing at all!

Banks are insured by the federal government (which may or may not be a good idea) but the point is a bank only goes into receivership when it defaults to their lender/insurance company, which in that case is the Federal government (so to speak). If the government were not insuring the bank, the bank would NEVER go into the receivership of the fed.

What you are suggesting is that a company is seized as a penalty for their operating procedures.
 

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
I'm not against corporate structure, having been an Executive Assistant to the CEO of a 40,000 member GE company, and seeing how they operate first-hand. It's ruthless and very profit-oriented; but worker safety needs to be top priority when a company operates any facility, especially one that operates dangerous equipment in the planet's most hostile environments.

This will set an extremely dangerous precedent for this country. There are already activist groups setting up "seize bp" demonstrations. Who do you think might be the groups which will get behind the demonstrations? This is a wedge issue, a chance to pit the proletariat against corporate greed, and a crisis for which all out attempts are being made not to let it "go to waste."
 

Aimiel

Well-known member
The fact is: BP isn't getting the message. There is no way to be sure they will this time, short of taking the helm. Appointing someone with real power as their Safety Director, with oversight of all their operations might be enough, but with the cleanup and resulting lawsuits, they might lose more value allowing them to go down the drain on their own than might be salvaged if their assets were controlled by a governing force of some sort, at least until the gulf is non-toxic again. Who knows when that will be?
 

Nathon Detroit

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There is no way to be sure they will this time, short of taking the helm.
And you want the Obama administration to take the helm? :kookoo:

You think there is a mess in gulf now? Just wait until Obama is calling (or typically not-calling) the shots.
 

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
Rosie O'Donnell:

"I say seize their assets. Right now. Seize their assets today. Take over the [company]. I don't care [how]. Issue an executive order...Call it socialism, call it communism, call it anything you want. Let's watch Rush Limbaugh explode on TV...Seize the assets. Take over BP."

"James Carville said the best thing. He said Obama needs to come down here and tell BP, "I'm your daddy, I am takin' it over," but they haven't been able to do it."
 

Nathon Detroit

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Rosie O'Donnell:

"I say seize their assets. Right now. Seize their assets today. Take over the [company]. I don't care [how]. Issue an executive order...Call it socialism, call it communism, call it anything you want. Let's watch Rush Limbaugh explode on TV...Seize the assets. Take over BP."

"James Carville said the best thing. He said Obama needs to come down here and tell BP, "I'm your daddy, I am takin' it over," but they haven't been able to do it."
Yep... never waste a crisis, use it to institute more socialism! :vomit:
 

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
Aimiel, did you see that at the top of the seizebp site, it says it's "A Campaign of the Answer Coalition"?A campaign of the ANSWER CoalitionA campaign of the ANSWER Coalition
 
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