LETTER TO THE EDITOR: President Obama’s campaign against BP

OPINION:

The recent action by President Obama and his administration to shut down offshore drilling will have unforgivable consequences. Not only is precious production being sacrificed, but thousands of jobs are being suspended. And Mr. Obama is insisting that BP pick up the tab for the wages and salaries of those who are impacted by the drilling and production moratorium for which he himself is responsible.

These improper actions and demands by Mr. Obama amount to egregious policy decisions that will have enormous negative consequences for America and American workers. The idea that BP should pick up the tab for lost wages and salaries caused by the displacement of workers from Mr. Obama’s whimsical moratorium is ludicrous. There is no legal theory that would support the thesis that BP is liable for the decisions of a sovereign government that has made arbitrary and capricious policy decisions that have no direct connection to the cleanup operations from the specific source of the oil leak.

It is clear that Mr. Obama is on a mission to destroy BP. His is a punitive mission borne out of a deep and utter disdain for capitalism and the free-enterprise system. To him, the profit motive is evil, as are the greedy corporations that pursue profits. Regardless of whether one is supportive of BP or angry and disgusted with BP, the corporation as an entity has a duty to protect its assets and market value and the investments of its shareholders. BP has finite assets - you cannot get blood from a turnip.

The ugly and punitive attitude demonstrated by Mr. Obama and his administration will ultimately destroy the retirement accounts of millions of BP investors as the market value of BP stock plunges. After all, the U.S. government, in its infinite wisdom, combined with environmental policies and heavy demand for oil by Americans, was a major contributor to the deep-ocean drilling and oil production being conducted by BP in water a mile and more deep. This is an enormously high-risk environment and one that the feds knew about and ignored.

BOB JACK

North Las Vegas, Nev.