You may be right about that, but again what happens in response to the gulf situation is orthogonal to this entire thread of discussion. BP has been racking up

You may be right about that, but again what happens in response to the gulf situation is orthogonal to this entire thread of discussion. BP has been racking up tens of millions in fines over the years, but they've been spending those millions to make billions. Financially, they are incented to cut corners and risk paying MMS the occasional $25k, when the drilling platform costs $500k/day.