American Citizens are expendable little piggies - clearly

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-05-25/shocking-bp-memo-and-the-oil-spill-in-the-gulf/full/

I don't even know what to say about this, other than to say that I feel like I should be stunned but I'm not.

When you don't have a system of checks and balances and instead rely purely on the profit motive, you get this type of thinking. Time and time again, short term thinking about purely monetary concerns trumps any long term economic thinking and certainly any concern for any non-economic results. Lives? Hmm, translate that into a dollar amount based on the potential for negative publicity. The environment? Hmm, translate that into another dollar amount based on publicity hit. Change our logo to look environmentally friendly without making any real changes. Brilliant! If it costs too much to clean it up, then don't do it. Hmm, the fines are lower than the cost of cleaning it up? Take the fine. Hmm, the cost of putting in safety features is higher than the expected losses from forecasting the odds of ever needing the safety features? Safety, shmafety!

The brazenness of this case should be shocking, and it might be to many Americans. To me, it's just Big Business as usual.