0 May 19th, 2010. by: Barak Vaughn
“Not all oil and gas firms are the same.” While that statement is certainly true if one looks at the various market capitalizations of oil and gas firms, Congress, the all-knowing entity, with all its oil and gas experts, does not believe it to be the case. Is anyone surprised?
In another effort to eliminate the small business owner, Congress is now rushing to increase the liability cap for spills from $75 million to $10 billion dollars. Unless you’re BP. Royal Dutch Shell, or its equivalent brethren, such a spike in the cap would make it impossible to obtain insurance for the independent oil producer.
According to Congressional Quarterly on May 18, 2010:
Independent oil producers are pushing Congress to spare them
from a broad increase in liability for oil spills, saying it would
cripple their ability to compete against bigger market players
such as those involved in the Gulf Coast oil spill.
However, the Democrats, seeking to paint all oil and gas companies the same, stated:
Although some independents are small operations, drilling
opponents such as Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez mock
the notion that the gulf is dominated by small, independent
oil producers, noting that some are $40 billion dollar enterprises.
American author, Mark Twain, wrote that there are “lies, damn lies, and then there are statistics.” Mark Twain also wrote that “there is no native criminal class except Congress.” It is time for Congress to stop seeking to enact hurried legislation that would again hurt small businesses, especially when the class of business owner that will be most affected by the gulf oil spill will be: the small business owner.