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How will the next President interact with Big Oil?
By Lauren | September 12, 2008
Continuing my series on ethical issues facing the next U.S. President, let’s talk about future relations between the White House and the powerful oil and gas industry. The press has been having great fun this week with a report issued by the Inspector General’s Office of the Department of the Interior that accuses employees in the department’s Denver office of operating in a “culture of substance abuse and promiscuity” that allegedly involved accepting gifts from oil industry representatives, having sex with energy industry employees, and rigging contracts to favored firms. And most ironically, all but one of the accused federal employees had been through ethics training - clearly, they weren’t paying attention at the time.
It’s tempting to dismiss the decadent antics in Denver as an aberration, but the problems there may be symptomatic of a larger ethical issue in our federal government. Critics of the current Administration frequently accuse President Bush and Vice President Cheney (themselves former oil men) of being entirely too cozy with the oil and gas industry. Leadership comes from the top; if the White House fails to take a highly ethical stance in dealing with regulated industries, we can hardly be surprised if federal employees follow suit.
At a time when Congress and the White House are seriously considering whether to open up more federal lands and offshore waters for oil and gas drilling, it’s troubling to think that the oil and gas industry may not be receiving unbiased, arm’s-length regulatory oversight. Will the next President take a strong position on the need to act ethically when regulating the powerful oil and gas industry? What’s your candidate’s position on energy regulation, and are you okay with it? You decide.
Topics: Presidential Campaign, Social Ethics, ethics |
September 14th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Lauren,
I don’t really think that the concept of businesss ethics or corporate social responsibility are particularly high priorities for the oil industry - particularly Exxon Mobil.
Moreover, I think that cosy relationship you describe has been the case in America and other gas guzzling countries for some time. The industry is used to running rings around western governments, and I most certainly do not see it being held to account anytime soon.
Cheers
Andrew