Mule Gone Blind #1

There is no doubt that America needs oil. But I question the sub-headline in Sunday’s NY Times “Week In Review” that suggests that this fact might be overlooked in the furor over the current disaster in the Gulf. What I think is overlooked, and indeed has consistently and continually been overlooked for decades, is the abysmal record of the US Congress in effectively overseeing and regulating the Oil industry. How then can anyone by surprised, shocked or dismayed when the fox stands in the doorway of the chicken coop and says “Oh don't pay any attention to those chickens screaming in the background. Trust me, I’ve got only their best interests in my mouth, ah…. I mean hands.”

To be honest, there is nothing unique or singular about the Oil Industry in this regard. Look at industry across the board. We witness a consistent parade of headlines bemoaning some new disaster in one industry or another; Finance, Banking, Food, Pharmaceuticals, Construction, Medical, Transport, the list goes on. And as the stories inevitably unfold, Congress at some point or another has tried to establish safeguards, regulations, fines, etc., only to have Industry Lobbyists thwart any meaningful legislation, typically saying that the most efficient, effective solution is “self regulation,” - that stricter regulation will precipitate some calamitous results, or that the costs will force the Companies to abandon the US market as too expensive. And somehow we buy that - at least until the next disaster. Then, there is a momentary epiphany until the headlines die down, and the old proverbial Foxes get out their checkbooks again. One has to look no further than the recent (and in some minds continuing financial debacle) for “in your face proof.” How ironic was it for Alan Greenspan, the financial soothsayer of all times, to have said, ”Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder’s equity (myself especially) are in a state of shocked disbelief.” Did he really belief the collective decency of the Industry would check it’s own greed?” And how sad that he could go no further than to say he was only “partially wrong.”

God forbid some Congressperson or Senator or President actually has the temerity to push the envelope for some meaningful change. He/She is immediately attacked as un-American, a Socialist or Communist; against the best interest of the entire free world - nay I say democracy, life liberty and the pursuit of happiness itself; oh, and did I mention personally responsible for not only the recent, but also the next great depression, earthquakes and volcanoes.

Yes, of course there are other countries that have looser controls, less regulation, and more corruption than we do. Let’s see, Russia, China, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan come right to mind. That’s got to make us all feel so much better.

We are not the only Country in the so-called Free World that has off shore drilling. Indeed Norway and Brazil, to name just two, do as well. However, as noted in the NY Times and Wall Street Journal last week, both Countries’ Governments insist on much stricter regulation and controls than does the US. And yet somehow the Oil Companies are able to successfully operate under those conditions. (read, operate in a financially beneficial way.)

Regulators in both Brazil and Norway insist on an acoustic device that is a last-resort protection against underwater spills. U.S regulators did consider requiring the acoustic switch on offshore wells, but drilling companies resisted because of its cost, and questions about its effectiveness. (Hello, is that the fox in the doorway?) U.S. regulators also maintain that these devices are prone to causing unnecessary shutdowns. Mmmm, what do you prefer? An unnecessary shut down? Or the current unprecedented ecological disaster? In the meantime, those potential “unnecessary shutdowns” don’t seem to be hampering the Brazilian or Norwegian wells, or keeping the Oil Companies from drilling.

Should it be to anyone’s surprise that the “fox” claimed that this type of accident was an impossibility on this rig? Should it astound us that the “fox” said “don’t worry, the rig cannot sink,” as it listed and burned? And how could we have possibly doubted the “fox” when he said, “the leak was not significant.”

The question for me is not about oil drilling but if and when our elected officials, Democrat, Republican, or self proclaimed Independents will ever stand up for the real welfare of the people who elected them, and stand down the Lobbyists for Industry that are part of the shadow government actually running our Country.

PWRains