So what could go wrong if multi-national corporations are given more power? President Obama is arguing that he needs to fast track the TPP. Who even came up with the term "fast track" when it comes to legislation? I don't recall that in "I'm Just A Bill."
If anyone needs more evidence that the oligarchy currently runs the show I have two pieces I'd like to submit for review. First is that the new Twinkies have a shelf life that is double what the old Twinkies had. And the second piece of evidence is the oil train that is burning in North Dakota right now.
The Obama administration has been directly responsible for the lack of regulation regarding the oil trains from North Dakota that carry highly volatile, flammable and explosive crude oil.
This oil could be made safe for transportation via a process known as stabilization that would remove the natural gas liquids that make it so volatile. But that would cost the oil industry money. So it isn't happening.
Reuters reported that the Department of Transportation wanted to address this issue in the new regulations but President Obama's Chief of Staff told the DOT to let the North Dakota regulators handle it.
And then, as these emails acquired by a Freedom of Information request show, the Obama administration got directly involved with the North Dakota "regulations" which also gave the oil industry a free pass.
The oil industry and the Obama administration want you to think that oil is very sciency and mysterious and thus they need to study it for a few more years before they can regulate it. An oil scientist has called this "BS." And it is. There is a train burning in North Dakota right now. Just like the seven Bakken oil trains that have crashed prior to this one. As an editor at RailwayAge recently wrote on this issue why the train is burning should be "obvious to the dullest high school chemistry student."
The head of the Federal Railroad Administration, Sarah Feinberg, is a communications professional who previously worked for Rahm Emanuel and Facebook. She has no rail experience. She recently told Rachel Maddow that the "science was still out"on the best way to handle this explosive oil. That isn't true. But Rachel let her get away with it.
There is an oil train burning in North Dakota right now. If you need an example of how the government is completely captured by corporations, that train is a good one. In a recent congressional hearing about the agency that regulates oil trains, a congresswoman said, "the system is fundamentally broken." It is. Completely owned by the corporations.
But that is a bit of an overstatement. They want more. As the head of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers recently said at a congressional hearing in a pleading tone, "Turn us loose."
The TPP. Lifting the ban on exporting crude oil. The laughable new "regulations"for oil by rail. The years of delay on the EPA study on fracking and well water contamination. It is coming every which way. Corporations want to be "turned loose." And, at this point, there is no one standing in their way.