Well actually you cant, what you can do is sell off and then claim chapter 11 bankruptcy. This will keep the money where it should be, in the hands of the oligarchy.
The idea that BP might one day file for bankruptcy, particularly as part of a merger that would enable it to cordon off its liabilities from the spill, is starting to percolate on Wall Street. Bankers and lawyers are already sizing up potential deals (and counting their potential fees).
The idea is to put the liabilities for a clean up they cannot afford into the smallest possible entity before the claims come rolling in like a tidal wave.
The winners in this would be Exxon-Mobile and Shell, both companies environmental records are impeachable impeccable.
Spinning off the Gulf operations probably wont work, Tony Hayward committed the ultimate CEO sin by signing a piece of paper saying BP would pay all the costs. For that alone I am surprised the board didn't call for his head on a silver platter. Then again
Who better to lead BP into bankruptcy?
I believe that BP is disproving the fallacy that a company is
To Big to Fail
This should be changed to:
Too big to fail until the uber rich walk away with the cash.
With republican packed courts the liabilities are likely to be limited.
If BP hives off part if its operations to other petroleum giants, the liability is thus limited to what remains. This again protects some very rich people. The remaining company will contain its most toxic assets, and then file for bankruptcy.
This could be the ultimate limited liability maneuver.
How to prevent this happening, anyone any bright ideas?
I don't think the courts can act fast enough to prevent it, I don't think the President can stop it by executive order. I may well be wrong, but I would bet the BP board have already started taking bids. Now how to get the money out once the deal is done, relocate financial operations?
I have a little bet with a friend, I say the only ones that are likely to pay for the clean up are the tax payers.
The wealth of BP will be long gone before the legal actions are near completion.
The hundreds of thousands of people work work for BP, well we can pay for their unemployment checks, its a win win situation for the oligarchy.
With this lesson in mind, after the horse has bolted as it were maybe its time to change some of the legislation controlling our global corporations?
Nah
Silly me
I'm being all socialist again.
They are people too, after all.
So I propose saving BP
So we can get them to pay for this catastrophe.
Just a foot note:
Shell should be in the same position as BP for its mess in the Niger delta, but we all know that is never going to happen. No money in it.
Well I have to catch the train for Le Mans, I'll pop in later and reply where necessary.