It's never anybody's fault. Nobody is to blame. Conglomerates don't have to admit wrongdoing. Fines are certainly paid. As long as the government collects money, the crime is forgotten and forgiven. If you have enough money, you can escape stringent punishment.
Here's an example from yesterday's Wall Street Journal: In the four years since British Petroleum's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (where tremendous amounts of oil were wasted, polluting American shores), U.S. prosecutors withdrew 23 criminal charges before the trials, judges dismissed 23 more, and jurors acquitted 3 more counts. The only 3 guilty sentences that finally arrived were all classified merely as misdemeanors, and the men will likely receive only probation. Where's the punishment? It's almost like watching the movie Chicago where the guilty go free.
This might explain why American tobacco companies are still making/selling cigarettes that are proven to be addictive and deadly. It might explain America's long-standing yet ineffective War on Drugs. It might explain the NRA's strength against the farcical War on Guns. It may explain ALEC's lobbying power. It might explain why Hollywood makes movies that mock American Justice: "Spotlight", "Money Monster", "The Boss", "Wolf of Wall Street", "The Big Short", "Fun With Dick and Jane", "Too Big To Fail", "Wizard of Lies", "Inside Job", "Up in the Air", "Collapse", "I.O.U.S.A.", "Capitalism: A Love Story", "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room", "Rogue Trader", "The Corporation" (2003 documentary), and the HBO film about Marc Stuart Dreier (investment fraudster).
The scary part is that our Justice Department feels comfortable allowing criminals to go free (barely punished... only via $$), knowing that its taxpaying public will learn of their scams.
Does the money collected from the wrongdoers actually get applied to fixing society or the environment? Look how slowly "recovery money" went from the federal government to Louisiana after the hurricane and oil spill... and consider how little it got! Look how fast "recovery money" went to the banks after the Housing Market Financial Crash of 2008. (Citibank used federal bailout money to build Citifield Stadium in NYC).
For similar observations, see my post:
http://halfwindsorfullthrottle.blogspot.com/2014/07/changed-values.html
BP oil spill began on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July 2010. Eleven people went missing and were never found and it is considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, an estimated 8% to 31% larger in volume than the previously largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill.
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