"Big" is the Problem


(This post is a comment I tried to post on the God's Politics blog written by Jim Wallis of Sojourners.  After spending 45 minutes trying to log in, I finally gave up.  The blog is about the immoral, unbiblical actions of BP in failing to prevent/control the current environmental disaster in the Gulf.)

I agree with most of what was in the post about BP. However, that's not the whole story. I have worked as an environmental consultant for over 40 years. Most of my work has been for industry: some good neighbors, some not. It is almost a universal truth that small industries/companies eventually comply with environmental regulations. Many I have worked with do this willingly out of a sense of personal and corporate responsibility. Some comply because they are forced to do so by a government agency. The big companies are different. They do everything they can to promote a public image that they are environmentally friendly while ignoring, even stomping into the dust, regulations that get in their way. There is enough evidence already to show that BP has done just this with respect to this deep-water rig.

However, we can't stop the blame-game with BP. The Federal government is the other “big” and it has been complicit with BP.  It failed to enforce its own regulations. When the "worst case scenario” occurred, it failed to act in a timely manner to implement its own contingency plan for such an occurrence. In fact, it failed to even acquire the equipment and train responders to implement the plan.  Further, this administration has allowed politics into the mix (catering to the radical environmentalist) to the extent that achievable and common sense measures to minimize the damage to the environment have been forbidden.

Big, global companies exert undue influence on our government, Democrats or Republicans, and subvert the legitimate functions of government. The larger government becomes, the more impact this subversion has on our daily lives.