BP could be going along with 0bamao’s shakedown now for public relations purposes, but when it comes time to write the check, they wouldn’t be legally obligated.
True, but at the same time they won’t be legally obligated to pay more than 75 million in claims unless there is determined to be criminal conduct. What do we do when they reach 75 million and decide to stop writing checks? I’ll tell you what we will do: me and you and every other taxpayer will have to pay those claims. The Feds will come up with some kind of Save the Gulf Coast Act and stock it chock full of (more) borrowed cash to pay out to anyone who claims they suffered. It will have crappy oversight, be subject to tons of fraud (like Katrina), and generally cost twice as much as what it should.
I don’t think having the government pick some “thrid party” to administer this claims fund is a good idea because it will just be an extension of the Feds and be just as poorly managed. But there needs to be some assurances, solid, legally binding assurances, that BP will go beyond the 75 million cap for paying claims. Otherwise, there is nothing stopping them from doing what you suggest—simply not write any checks because they aren’t legally required to do so.