More than 3.3 million barrels of oil have now spilled into the Gulf as a result of the BP spill. To put that into perspective, the entire Exxon Valdez spill dumped a mere 257,000 barrels into the sea. There is no doubt that the fall-out from this spill, both environmentally and fiscally, will be significant.
Congressional leaders (while being slow to actually do anything about the spill) are taking their first steps towards economic relief for victims of the spill. Senators from states affected by the spill are seeking a number of tax provisions aimed at softening the impact of the spill for small businesses in particular. Specific provisions would include tax deferral from BP payments (many of which are taxable), loss carrybacks, a tax credit on new hires and a sales tax “holiday” for tourists. It’s just in the early stages right now and to my knowledge, nothing has been discussed in the House, just the Senate. I’ll keep you posted.
Obama told America that if we can win WWII and put a man on the moon, we can solve this crisis as well as our dependency on fossil fuels.
But there’s a missing piece: the soldiers in WWII had the Pentagon and Neil Armstrong had NASA. What’s the man on the street supposed to do to solve the fossil fuel problem? Is it time for an organized, funded effort?
The following link is to a satirical video, but it underscores this issue in real terms.
Link: You’re Soaking In It
Who are the true victims of this spill. It affects ALL of us. There just by varying degrees of impact. Some hit hardest (the animals and sea life) to those who make their living off the sea and then the consumers. How do you compensate the animals or for that matter the earth itself. We were given stewardship, to care for it, not bring it to ruin.
There is a House version of this, H.R. 5699, introduced by Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) . More at http://goo.gl/2KhU