Crime Pays for BP

Other Words - It turns out crime pays. Big time. BP, the oil company responsible for what may become the largest oil spill of all time in the United States has been breaking the law, again and again. And each time, the company formerly known as British Petroleum has learned its lesson: Keep breaking the law. Corporations can get away with murder and environmental devastation, and make billions doing it.

For example, last year BP paid the largest penalty in the history of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for willful negligence that led to the death of 15 workers and the injury of 170 others in a March 2005 refinery explosion in Texas City. The fine amounted to $87.43 million.

That may sound like a lot, but BP made $163 billion in profits between 2001 and 2009, and another $5.6 billion in the first three months of 2010. Along the way, it paid fines for violating the law that totaled roughly $530 million, or one-third of 1 percent of the company's profits over the same time period. Read more.