A recent report listed claims related to the disastrous BP Gulf Oil Spill in 2010. Payments were made from a $20 billion BP fund overseen by a Court Supervised Settlement Program. Some of the payments were: A retail store closed by a fire in 2010 received $135,258. An attorney 200 miles from the Gulf Coast lost his business license in 2010 but received $172,253. A farm located 200 miles from the Gulf coast that had planted no crops in 2010 received $266,730. A Florida RV park was foreclosed two weeks before the Gulf spill; the owner was awarded $704,000. A Louisiana senior care facility was shut down for almost a year before the oil spill but received $662,834.
More than a half billion dollars has been disbursed for claims that had no connection to the Gulf oil spill. Who were the lawyers filing these cases? Who are the judges and fund trustees that authorized payments? Did Kenneth Feinberg, the President’s administrator for ‘The Gulf Coast Claims Facility’ authorize these unwarranted payments? Did our government overlook the veracity of claims as retribution?
Recently the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ordered GM to issue a recall of 18,941 of the Chevrolet model Camaro because the airbag warning label on the sun visor may not be affixed securely enough. The Field Performance Evaluation Review Committee reported its findings to the Executive Field Action Decision Committee who made the recall decision. Letters to owners and dealers apparently would not suffice. Has common sense been replaced by layers of laconic government lackeys?
In January 2012, Hostess Brands filed chapter 11 bankruptcy. Because the company, with $2.5 billion in 2011 sales could not come to terms with the unions regarding their $2 billion legacy pensions, the court in November of 2012 authorized chapter 7 liquidation.
About 18,500 workers became unemployed, 33 bakeries and 565 distribution centers were shuttered. One reason for the company’s failure was union work-rules. Drivers could not load their own trucks. Bread and cake could not be delivered on the same truck. Drivers could only deliver to a customer warehouse. ‘Pull-up’ workers were brought in to move items to display shelves. Unions had overburdened the workforce with surplus dues-paying drones. Have some unions outlived their usefulness?
A businessman noticed that the DIY mailing system at a local post office had been removed, requiring him to wait in line to ship packages. Asking about the absence of the equipment, he was told it was a clerk-killer and the union had it removed. Who runs the USPS, the unions or the government?
For decades, the Phoenix, AZ police have had six officers being paid full time but working for the union, called ‘release time.’ The Goldwater Institute filed suit alleging that taxpayer contributions of this nature violated the Arizona constitution. The judge agreed. Why should taxpayers pay for the unions to negotiate terms of employment with taxpayers?
Free cell phones called ‘Lifeline’ are available to people whose income is below 135% of the federal poverty level. One phone per family is allowed presumably for the purpose of making contacts for employment. According to the FCC, 41% of free cell phone recipients were unable to demonstrate eligibility and the FCC states that the program is rife with waste, fraud and abuse. The FCC also indicates that multiple possession of free government phones exceeds 2 million. Arkansas Representative Tim Griffin reported that free phones were issued to dead people in his district and one person boasted having ten phones. This wasteful program costs taxpayers more than $2 billion annually. Is trading one free phone for one vote a benefit or simply waste?
The above narratives are a potpourri of disturbing and ongoing events. The excesses in bloated government regulation and control, high-handed union preeminence and arrogance and the waste of money and human resources are on display throughout this great land. Is it because we are indifferent and apathetic to the words and actions of those who replace leadership with lip service?
– Dick Baynton
