How Much Are The Marshall Islands Worth?

One thing we are re-learning from the failure of Wall Street, the robbing of the National Treasure by Halliburton, the fall of ENRON, etc. is that the world is full of crooks, thieves, and liers in expensive suits and that Governments sell out cheap.

It is time for a change.

I propose that any country that flags a ship or allows a corporation to operate under its laws be held ultimately responsible for the damage or criminal activity those they flag or licence commit.

That under international law said country be held liable down to its treasure and/or territory.

Let's Start with the country that flagged the Deep Water Horizon, that being the Marshall Islands.

Of course it is always the poor nations that take on these flags of convenience, The Marshal Islands for example as of 2008 had a Gross Domestic Product of only S135.5 Million. That won't go too far in paying for cost of the harm done by the Deep Water Horizon. But maybe by putting their economy in limbo it would warn off others.

There is another problem. Basically the Marshall Islands are a step child of the United States.

We are its main source of revenue.

"US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. The Marshall Islands received more than $1 billion in aid from the US from 1986-2002. Agricultural production, primarily subsistence, is concentrated on small farms; the most important commercial crops are coconuts and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, tuna processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Amended Compact of Free Association, the US will provide millions of dollars per year to the Marshall Islands (RMI) through 2023, at which time a Trust Fund made up of US and RMI contributions will begin perpetual annual payouts. " ---CIA Handbook

Whoopsey Daisey!

So a country for whom we are the main economic support flagged a ship that they don't even inspect that screws up in American waters. Well shit.

Let's take the dang thing back and sell the islands off one at a time to billionaire investors. At least they would not be running the scam of selling flags of convenience to pirates across the world like TransOcean, BP, Halliburton, etc..

It is still a good idea for all the other "nations" that sell corrupt "flags of convenience". Let them be totally liable for the crimes committed by those they licence. You see all these corporations are trans national as are commodities, products, and money. Those CEOs, CFOs, and Board members just chuckle their way to an orgasm thinking about how parochial national laws are when it comes to controlling them . Dear Glenn Beck types, it is these guys who are already the "New World" order. Whatcha gonna do about them? Take your cut and then retire?