no, I implying that if there were owners with a much more direct interest in the future well being of what they own than some distant short-term oriented politician, had set the rules instead of the government, they would have done a BETTER job of regulating what was going.
The government regulates tightly after a disaster and less tightly as memories fade and lobbyists start manipulating them. Politicians will never be as consistently interested in the wellbeing of the gulf or anything else as those with a more direct interest. Which is why the government agree to a ridiculous limit of $75 million on total liability for drilling, something an owner never would have done.
Its the same story over and over, in industry after industry. Government ignores the risks, disaster strikes, they overreact. And then gradually over time the lobbyists erode every restriction, good or bad.
I call that insanity.