Submitted by
Users who Dugg This
UPick (Don't Like New Digg)
8589 Followers
UPick (Don't Like New Digg)
8589 Followers
Dominique Conte
1824 Followers
Dominique Conte
1824 Followers
Miguel Lopez
27095 Followers
Miguel Lopez
27095 Followers
merbrianAug 12, 2010
Figures.
Closed AccountAug 12, 2010
that all?
kanockAug 12, 2010
A) This was on the front page yesterday, when it was actually news.
B) They have responded to 106,000 with 39,000 still in the queue, not "ignored".
mnocketAug 12, 2010
Plus it's also being reported that applications for fishing licenses in the gulf region are up 60% despite much of the fishing grounds being closed. Why? Because fraudsters are getting fishing licenses and then applying for compensation from BP for lost wages.
philipukAug 12, 2010
Source?
elcadAug 12, 2010
And don't forget all those real fishermen who can't get it compensation, because they haven't been paying taxes all these years, so have paperwork to justify their claims.
mnocketAug 12, 2010
@PhillpUK
I have a feeling that if you really cared about a source you would have taken the initiative and googled it yourself. Non-the-less here are some sources for you....
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1302463/How-BP-paying-millions-oil-spill-compensation-fraudsters.html
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre66o0m0-us-oil-spill-fraud/
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2010/08/12/fake-fishermen-hustle-bp-payback/
uselesstriviaAug 12, 2010
@ElCad I don't really feel sorry for them if they weren't paying their taxes and now can't prove that they've been legitimately impacted.
I pay my taxes, they should have to pay theirs.
inactiveuserAug 12, 2010
DAILYMAIL?
hipmanAug 12, 2010
They didn't do it voluntarily.
dougm68Aug 12, 2010
I can't believe they payed 20 B. That's a sign of weakness.
y'suck BP.
-Shell Oil CEO.
bloodwineAug 12, 2010
Listen, not every claim will get paid. First and foremost, people directly affected such as fishermen and coastal resorts should be serviced first.
However, you are going to see a lot of claims by businesses indirectly affected such as businesses 30 miles inland that, due to the punch to the local economy, are seeing much less business. Sad, yes, but if you tried to pay off everybody in every ring of the shockwave then you are going to need more than $20 billion.
isifunded911Aug 12, 2010
So what? They can pay much more considering their profits!
Obviously you want to deny reality.
confuciussayAug 12, 2010
You can't pay every claim.. look at social benefits alone, half of the recipients aren't even qualified for it. People who have not even been remotely affected by the spill will try to find some unbelievable story to claim they have been affected.
colecoman1982Aug 12, 2010
"Sad, yes, but if you tried to pay off everybody in every ring of the shockwave then you are going to need more than $20 billion."
It doesn't have to be sad. No-one ever said that the first $20 billion has to be the end of BPs liability. They owe whatever it takes to make the situation right, for everyone effected by their screw-up, no matter how far removed. And then, we can start discussing the fines they should receive to teach them to never allow something like this to ever happen again. If it bankrupts them, then so be it. You reap what you sow.
dividebyoAug 12, 2010
Sorry, but your statement is a load of reactionary BS.
I completely agree with paying those directly affected right away, but the example given is for someone at least one step removed, if not more. She wants money because her customers are canceling, and thus she is going bankrupt. Does that then mean her suppliers should also be putting in for money because she is going bankrupt and they don't have her business any more? What about the suppliers for her suppliers? In no way should this payout be going that far. At a certain point, you have to accept that there are risks of being in business, and one of those risks is losing money.
Do I think this particular woman deserves money from BP for her lost business. I think I'd say potentially yes, if she can prove that a certain percentage of her clients that canceled, were people that were directly affected (fishermen, etc... not a business that also lost business because of cancellations or what not). The fact that she didn't get it yet, as others have said in the comments already, there have been over 100,000 claims paid out already. I think that speed would best any insurance company's for paying out such large numbers of claims.
And this is besides the fact that her claim hasn't even been turned down yet, its in limbo while those directly affected are being taken care of.
spinningheadAug 12, 2010
"At a certain point, you have to accept that there are risks of being in business, and one of those risks is losing money. "
As usual, the big company takes the risk, makes the profit, and individuals and small businesses take the loss. Its socialism in reverse.
colecoman1982Aug 12, 2010
""At a certain point, you have to accept that there are risks of being in business, and one of those risks is losing money. ""
Indeed, and that is exactly the line I would say to the executives/shareholders of BP if they complained that that cost of making right _ALL_ the economic impact of their massive f**k up in the Gulf has driven the company out of business.
dividebyoAug 13, 2010
What I don't get with either of your replies is that you seem to be arguing that none of the small businesses out there that might be not specifically, directly impacted, should be held accountable for the concept of being in business, and the risks involved. Its just "pay any and all who might be affected!!" with no thought that there should be a limit to that thought. It is very convenient to just heap everything on BP, to the point of: "Indeed, and that is exactly the line I would say to the executives/shareholders of BP if they complained that that cost of making right _ALL_ the economic impact of their massive f**k up in the Gulf has driven the company out of business."
Would you still say the same "drive BP out of business" if you realized that there are over 20,000 US employees of BP?
Please don't assume I think BP has no responsibility. I know they do, a big one, but reason needs to be applied, not just emotion. The bloodlust needs to be tempered with a dose of reality, and logical thinking...
frccAug 12, 2010
Politically connected people are getting payouts. That's how the system was devised and why govt. is running it. The system works as intended so stop analyzing it's flaws.
dividebyoAug 12, 2010
Buried for misleading headline... in limbo is not the same as ignored, and the circumstances around why they have not all been paid are not really spelled out, just a bunch of reactionary speculation.
mnocketAug 12, 2010
There seems to be a lot of fraudulent claims, so I can't blame BP for insisting on proper documentation.
"of the 114,000 claims submitted, nearly 54 percent, or more than 61,000, lack key documentation, according to BP"
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre66o0m0-us-oil-spill-fraud/
kingp43Aug 12, 2010
I have a friend living on the golf side of FLA, close to Clearwater. He just told me the other day he was about to "get some of that BP money!" After a bit of interrogation he expected to receive approx. $1,000 a month for an estimated 6 months. He works as a waiter.
droweAug 12, 2010
Gulf* - every side in Florida is the Golf side.
kingp43Aug 12, 2010
lol, I slipped I have golf on the brain
tsuruchibrianAug 12, 2010
I am not trying to defend BP or anything, but...
I would expect a bunch of bogus claims to be filed. Even if BP is the bad guy and you don't want them to have the money, giving that money to people who don't really deserve it means that people who actually deserve it won't get it.
"... wedding planners, folks in the tourism industry, and so forth are having a tougher time than others getting their claims filed -- it's hard to deny a claim to a fishermen who can no longer fish, for example."
As the article suggests... what do you do for a wedding planner that loses business because less people want to get married in the gulf states? The spill probably did have some affect on their business, but you really got to draw the line somewhere.
If BP is waiting for Kenneth Feinberg to be in charge of the fund, then they are not stalling to avoid paying out claims, they are stalling to avoid denying the claims. Nothing that BP does now is going to be right. They are the bad guy. Even if they make the right decision, it will be for selfish reasons. They are a for profit company. Their mission is to maximize profit (or minimize losses) for their owners (shareholders). This includes trying to avoid public outrage and government issued penalties.
isifunded911Aug 12, 2010
Gulf Residents Likely Face Decades of Psychological Impact From BP's Oil Disaster
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=20504
While the devastating ecological impacts of BP's oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico are obvious, the less visible but also long-lasting psychological, community and personal impacts could be worse, according to social scientists, psychologists and psychiatrists.
"People are becoming more and more hopeless and feeling helpless," Dr. Arwen Podesta, a psychiatrist at Tulane University in New Orleans told Truthout. "They are feeling frantic and overwhelmed. This is worse than [Hurricane] Katrina. There is already more post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and more problems with domestic violence, threats of suicide and alcohol and drugs."
Dr. Podesta, who also works in addiction clinics and hospitals said, "It's a remarkably similar experience to that of the stressors of Katrina. There is an acute event, but then a long-term increase in hopelessness with every promise that is broken. Like a promise for money to rebuild a life, then people are put through red tape and each time they fail to move forward, they take five steps back in their psychological welfare."
"The total number of years this will affect us is unknown," Dr. Podesta said, adding, "however, it could affect us for possibly 20 to 30 years."
...
alaskalonewolfAug 12, 2010
...that's what happens when the government takes money from oil companies. Don't worry, they'll pass the savings along to us, at the pump.
cyber2uallAug 13, 2010
I have to agree that BP actually paying for their damages makes me feel a whole lot better about the company as a whole. Now lets continue moving away from needing to use oil and coal to run our country's vehicles and heat our homes.