People of the Gulf Coast affected by the oil spill have been promised to start seeing bigger payments faster, according to the administrator of the fund, Kenneth Feinburg. He said he was responding to many complaints saying that payments were coming much too slow and were not nearly enough to make much of a difference. According to him, he says, "I am implementing new procedures that will make this program more efficient, more accelerated and more generous." But in response to his words, there is much skepticism. The mayor of Orange Beach, Alabama, says he was not moved by the words and says his residents need help now and they don't feel like they're getting it. Many of the people affected by the spill owned mom-and-pop shops and are now totally devestated. Everyday he gets people who leave the town because they lost there home and business, everything. The spill has also not only affected those mom-and-pop shop owners, however. Doctors who relied on tourist walk-ins are also finding themselves in a bind because tourism has dropped significantly this summer because of the spill. These doctors are also having their claims for compensation denied because they don't work in an industry that has direct ties to the ocean. But now according to the administrator, Feinburg, claims will sorted by industry to let those reviewing the claims apply a more fair and uniform set of standards to decide how much a person or business will be paid. It's unclear if this will help people like those doctors mentioned previous who are not directly linked to the ocean, or if it will just make payments to victims who are being compensated more consistent. The oil spill occurred on April 20th, and has since leaked 206 gallons into the Gulf Coast. A $200 billion fund was set up that so far has paid $400 million to 30,000 claims. However, this is less than 2% of total BP had agreed to set aside. Right now people are getting an emergency fund amount, and later they will get a lump-sum final payment if they agree not to sue BP. We'll have to wait and see if BP follows through.
The Gulf Coast oil spill occurred over five months ago. It was just last week that BP claimed to have sealed the hole for good. In the meantime, for people of the Gulf Coast, it must have been one never-ending nightmare. I can't imagine how it would feel to be a fisherman or shrimper who earned your entire income off the ocean. To have the oil contaminate and kill what you relied on to earn money and live on, and then only be given only a little bit of money by BP while they're still scurrying around trying this and that to stop oil that is continually leaking for 5 months, making your life worse and worse, is crazy. What really makes them think that now it's all going to change and more people are going to be given more money and everything is going to be rosey again? If they were going to really help people and if they were truely sorry, they wouldn've done it right away, not five months later. The damage has been done. They're commercials on TV are all fine and dandy, but I'd much rather have them use that money on helping those Gulf Coast victims. People's lives have been destroyed, and in no way was it those people's fault. They should be given full compensation. I also believe that should include people like those doctors mentioned in the article that have lost alot of money from their income in the effects of the spill, even though their jobs are not directly linked to the ocean because everything connects. Even though the spill may not have been BP's fault entirely- accidents do happen,-I think it is their responsibility to help those affected try to get their lives back on track and that they should've been much more efficient at closing off the leaking well. I hope that my thought are proved wrong, however. It would be great to see BP actually be more helpful to all those affected by the worst oil spill the U.S. has ever had.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39359569/ns/us_news-environment/
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