The Illusion of Justice

My first reaction on reading that BP has agreed to pay $4.5 billion in fines and penalties and to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges related to the gulf disaster, was one of satisfaction. After all, this is a sizable figure, the largest fine ever, and there are still other charges pending against the company and criminal charges will be filed against the three top people on board the drilling rig. Criminal charges will also filed against one former VP for obstruction of Congress because of his false testimony.

I wouldn't like to be in that VP's position since BP, as part of its settlement, admitted using him to mislead Congress.

It is all less satisfactory on a closer look, and basically that has to do with the fact that the criminal charges were filed against the corporation and not against the top executives. For me the heart of the matter is summed up in the fact that the corporation has admitted using the VP to mislead Congress. They're not saying he acted on his own. No, he was carrying out the policy agreed upon by the leaders of the company. And those leaders are the ones responsible, not just for lying to Congress, but for the whole culture that existed for years of sacrificing safety to profit.

If this were any other type of criminal investigation, the justice department would be using the three people on the drilling rig to get at the king pins. But that apparently applies to the drug business and not to corporations.

Robert Reich, in the Christian Science Monitor makes a strong case why this settlement is merely the illusion of justice, and that the free pass to BP's top executives does absolutely nothing to deter this type of criminal behavior.

He also explains how going after the corporations not only lets the guilty executives off the hook, but punishes lots of innocent people. He gives the example of Arthur Anderson which was convicted of obstruction of justice in the Enron debacle and went out of business when its clients abandoned it en masse.
The vast majority of the employees who ended up losing their jobs had nothing to do with Enron. But the executives who were responsible all moved on very smoothly to the next rung on their career ladder.

Perhaps the most offensive thing in the NYT story about the settlement was a quote from an investment analyst in London. Of course the only thing equity analysts and investment managers want is for things to get back to normal. But this particular analyst admitted regretfully that there is still uncertainty hanging over BP's future and concern about pending claims and the fact that "lawyers might yet have their day at court."

That's right. It's all about lawyers having their day at court. Screw him!