Let Free Markets Reign!

[dem mba]

by Invictus

As Larry Kudlow tells us nightly, “Free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity!” Free markets rock! Get regulations and restrictions out of the way and let good ole free market competition determine the winners and losers. Regulations and government intervention are for (socialist) losers. It’s in our DNA.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I saw a section of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (Sec. 1004) that places limits on liability for polluters! How un-free-market-like, to limit BP’s liability in the Gulf of Mexico debacle to a mere rounding error of $75 million! What true free-marketeer would ever stand for such nonsense?

Sec. 1004:

SEC. 1004. LIMITS ON LIABILITY

(a) GENERAL RULE.—Except as otherwise provided in this section,
the total of the liability of a responsible party under section
1002 and any removal costs incurred by, or on behalf of, the responsible
party, with respect to each incident shall not exceed—

(3) for an offshore facility except a deepwater port, the total
of all removal costs plus $75,000,000;

Balderdash! How dare the government limit BP’s liability. Let the free markets determine BP’s fate. Why should it be otherwise? Should they face multiple lawsuits and get sued out of existence, that’s nothing more than the Darwinism of capitalism.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/05/let-free-markets-reign/">/more

[rfranklin]

1. Typical free market is to walk away from the mess...

and litigate until the plaintiffs drop dead from exhaustion of funds or life.

[safeinOhio]

2. I want my Constitution back

No caps, no limits, no immunity, no tort reform.
Support the Seventh Amendment to US Constitution.

[AnArmyVeteran]

3. New Rules for Murder (if you are rich enough to own congress)

NEW RULES FOR MURDER:

SEC. 245. LIMITS ON LIABILITY

(a) General Rule #1: Except as otherwise provided in this section, the total liability of a wealthy party under Section 231 who commits murder shall not exceed one penny per offense, or murder. There shall be no other punishment, such as incarceration, for the murderer.

(b) General Rule #2: In the event of a wealthy party, or parties, practicing mass genocide total liabilities shall not exceed one dollar, regardless of the number of people murdered by the offender. There shall be no other punishment, such as incarceration, for the murderer(s).

SEC. 257. ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS

(a) The blame for any murder shall be on the person murdered because that person must have deserved to be murdered.

(b) All of the statutes cited in this law shall only apply to people with great wealth, for people of modest means will face immediate execution by the corporate government if they commit the act of murder. They will be executed twice if they murder anyone in the ruling class, or people of wealth.