BP vs. 9/11: Apples To Oranges
Monday, June 28th, 2010Over the weekend, people across the internet have said that there shouldn’t be a problem having Kenneth Feinberg administer the funds from BP, citing his work as administrator of the 9/11 funds. From the outset, I’ve thought that comparing the two responsibilities as comparing apples with oranges. Thanks to this op-ed, I can now illustrate the difference:
9/11 Fund: Once Was Enough
By Kenneth R. Feinberg
Thursday, September 11, 2008As we reflect on the awful events that took place seven years ago today, it is inevitable that we will think about the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. Congress passed the act creating the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund just 11 days after the attacks, and President Bush quickly signed it into law. This bipartisan statute was the first of its kind, providing generous tax-free public compensation to the physically injured and to the families of the dead.
Over the next 33 months, the fund paid out more than $7 billion to 5,560 people; the average award for a death claim was just over $2 million, and the average award for a physical injury claim was more than $400,000. (Sadly, there were few injury claims resulting from the attacks; people either escaped from the World Trade Center towers or the Pentagon, or they didn’t.) Never before in American history has there been an example of such taxpayer generosity.
Since the 9/11 fund was created by an act of Congress, there was never a lawsuit brought so that a court could appoint someone to administer to the paying of settlements. Instead, the legislation had a provision in it that required the appointment of someone to authorize settlements to the victims of 9/11. (more…)