President Obama is scheduled to meet with top BP executives this week to demand they set up an escrow account to help pay for damages to the Gulf caused by the oil spill. The account will be managed independently and will help to quickly pay compensation to businesses and workers such as fisherman, oil workers, hotels, restaurants, tour boats and other members of the dwindling tourist market down south.
Governors from the states of Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama have claimed that their tourist season has already been badly damaged. Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi blamed sensational press coverage that has scared away potential tourists who believed, wrongly, that his states beaches had been fouled.
BP had originally stated that it would pay all "legitimate" claims arising from the oil spill. Some fear the company will declare bankruptcy or be taken over by another company in an effort to limit its liability.
On Saturday, Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke by phone and sought to ease any diplomatic tensions between the two over the handling of the oil spill. While Obama has been under pressure in the United States to take a strong stand against BP, Cameron has been under pressure in Britain to stand behind the oil giant, whose stock is crucial to British pension funds.
Shawn
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