Transocean Gives Americans the Finger

I just learned yesterday that Transocean has decided to give its top executives bonuses. You remember Transocean. They are the company along with British Petroleum [BP] who were blamed for the largest oil spill ever in recorded history. The fact they are doling out bonuses doesn't bother me. It's upsetting when they are handing these bonuses out under the reason "best year for safety". Especially when 11 people died on Deepwater Horizon and 9 of those worked for Transocean directly. Makes one wonder what the worst year for safety may look like, Armageddon?

It's like they are giving us the proverbial middle-finger, while sitting back in their extinct animal leather chairs, legs propped up on their hundred-thousand dollar desks laughing at us with smug looking grins on their faces. And if you ask me what they are really saying is...

F-You America! We will do what we want, where we want and when we want to do it. There is nothing you [Americans] can do about it. And you [Americans] will give us an effective tax rate of zero percent. On top of that, you [Americans] will give us millions of dollars in tax benefits. And you will like it!

They could have given those bonuses out for any reason, any other reason at all. But, instead they chose safety, showing they do not care for the damages they cause nor the people's lives they destroyed. Remember, we are not talking about a faceless corporation. It was the mindful decision of the board members to hand out these bonuses under the banner of safety. They knew this blatant display of disrespect would receive much gaff from the media and the public, and yet they did it anyway.

It is clear they are trying to convey a different sort of message, and I, for one, have received it loud and clear. It's unfortunate, bad-mannered and out-of-line.

You can read a bit more about their decision and the defense of their position here at: www.bbc.co.uk. It's a quick read and their excuses are interesting.