Monday, August 30, 2010

Battle Over BP (NYSE:BP) Compensation Fund Heating Up

The BP (NYSE:BP) compensation fund being administered by Kenneth Feinberg is becoming a circus as politicians and officials attempt to pressure Feinberg to change the parameters being used to make decisions on who will be paid, and how much.

Now Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has entered the fray, claiming Feinberg is making it harder for individuals and businesses to get paid from the damages occured from the oil spill in the Gulf.

This is predicable, as creating this fund in the first place was probably a huge mistake. Many people are starting to treat this as if it's a government fund, when it is money set aside by BP to pay for the damages. The government has nothing to do with it in any way, other than negotiating for it in the first place.

That's why Feinberg was supposedly put in charge of it so it could be an independent fund, not one manipulated by politicians government officials to use it to battle the effects of the recession, rather than the sole purpose of paying those back who were victims of the oil spill.

McColloum is attempt to pressure U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to persuade him to change the parameters of the fund, asserting they're putting greater burdens on victims.

Feinberg was accused by the attorney general of Florida of saying claims would be determined by how close people and businesses were to the spill, which really isn't a true statement.

He said the closer people and businesses were to the oil spill, the more likely they would be accepted and paid. He always left room for exceptions.

Either way, this won't be the last government official attempting to manipulate the situation so they can tap into the fund on behalf of people or businesses who are dubious at best at qualifying for a pay out.

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