...BP's Billions...

There is much discussion about what BP should do with its 10.5 Billion Dollar dividend in order to determine what is right, what is fair and what is just. The major complication, as I see it, is that none of the players in this conversation have any kind of real grasp on “right”, “fair”, or “just”.

There is a big time undercurrent (or overcurrent, if that is a word) of sentiment that the money in the world is inherently evil – which always cracks me up because it immediately takes away any personal responsibility for the creation, surplus, lack, or division of money in the world. We all have a stake in this, we are all responsible for the way money is transferred, and ultimately spent.

The perfect example is BP and the many gas stations around the state. I drove by a BP in Maynard and saw people pumping away, and I couldn’t believe it. The lack of personal responsibility in going to a BP station is astounding. As a consumer, our only real course of action against corporations or products we don’t like is to “not”. Not buy, not consume, not share, not talk about, not enjoy…to do “Not” is the only weapon we have against the company.

I don’t know if it was apathy, lack of understanding, lack of caring, or outright ignorance, but when you go to a BP station and fill up your tank you are literally telling BP that you’re behind them, you’re on their side. That’s noble if you believe it, if you are on their side, but if you polled 10 out of 10 people at a BP station they would tell you the spill is horrible, the company is at fault, and something must be done to stop it, immediately.

That’s where personal responsibility comes in – and the lack of it in this country. I have the argument with friends all the time about the Sports. Trust me, this isn’t an NBA post…so don’t worry. But people always say, “Why does so and so have to make 10 million per year!?” Well, the short answer is, they don’t. However, if 10 million is out there to be had, then someone will have it.

How do they get that 10 million? This is how:

1. People buy tickets, the team makes money.

2. People watch TV, advertisers buy advertising on the broadcast b/c of ratings, the team makes money.

3. People buy jerseys, the team makes money.

4. People listen on the radio and read in papers, advertisers buy space, the team makes money.

All 4 of those things, and many others, are 100% controllable by us, the consumers. The only way we can stop Kendrick Perkins from getting a 5 year 50 million dollar extension is to STOP doing the 4 things above. As long as we continue to do those things, we have no backbone in the argument.

Back to BP – as long as we go to the pumps, we have no backbone. Don’t people understand that? And now there is a 10.5 Billion dollar surplus that people all around the globe are going to be mad about. A surplus that rests squarely on our shoulders, and the shoulders of the British where they are a more dominant country. The 10.5 billion came long before the oil started gushing. That 10.5 Billion is there, we created it.

So now what do we do with the surplus, well, we look at our options. And as a side note, at this point, on this spill, Obama’s opinion really doesn’t seem to have any weight, or any kind of real momentum. He has been passive, at best, in this whole thing. Crouch on an oil filled beach all you want with a furrowed brow and a longing for old times look in your eyes Mr. President, until you absolutely demolish BP your actions are that of a corporate magnate, a Titan of Industry, and if that’s your mission, well then cheerio to you, good sir. However, his opinion here is finally saying something…

Option 1 is to divide the dividend up amongst shareholders. They invested in the company, and the company made money, so they get their investment back plus some, based on their agreement. That sounds okay until you realize that part of investing in a giant, negligent Oil Company comes at a cost. Didn’t anyone see “There Will Be Blood”? I mean, wasn’t the whole point of that basically that greed and desperation for power and money comes at a giant cost? There WILL be blood on your hands if that’s your goal?

When you invest in Bigger-Than-Big oil, there will be blood, and the blood is flowing. You cannot expect, as an investor, to just have your money come flowing in while death and destruction flows out. Here are the options as reported by the Times:

A person with direct knowledge of the board’s discussions said Monday that the board was considering three possible options: suspending payment of the dividend for two quarters, paying the dividend in bonus shares or escrowing the amount of the dividend while paying for the cleanup. Under the last option, BP would use cash generated from revenues to pay for the cleanup and would not tap the fund unless it was needed. This option, the person said, could offer some reassurance to both Washington and to shareholders that BP will pay for the cleanup while also trying to accommodate shareholders.

1. Suspend Dividend for 2 Quarters - Oh, good, thats news to us. The ocean will be oil free in 2 quarters. Thank goodness, because I was talking to a turtle the other day whose younger brother has oil in his lungs and eyes and was under the impression that Texas Tea would be clogging up his arteries for 5, or at least 4, quarters.

2. Paying the Dividend in Bonus shares - Sarcasm only works in point 1. Think about this arrogance - they are destroying the earth little by little with no real end in sight and they not only think they are going to pull through it all, but they're going to pull through it all richer than they came into it, and they think shareholders should be excited by that prospect. Who would want bonus shares!?!?!

3. Escrow the Amount of Dividend while paying for the cleanup - I guess this one seems somewhat reasonable, but I don't like the idea that BP is honestly thinking that the cleanup effort won't nudge into their operating dollars and only will effect profit. At what point do they just give up and realize it's all over?

Cuz you know what? Its all over for BP, its all over for oil, and its all over for us. I was off of Long Island swimming this weekend and I was thinking, in the back of my head, that this literally could be the last summer I swim in that water. How quickly will oil fly up the east coast to New York once it rounds Miami? It's gushing. I try to avoid watching the live footage because it is right up there with some of the most horrifying images I have ever seen in my life. No joke.