John Roberts proves who he is worried about – corporations:
Exxon Mobil, the giant oil corporation appearing before the Supreme Court yesterday, had earned a profit of nearly $40 billion in 2006, the largest ever reported by a U.S. company — but that’s not what bothered Roberts. What bothered the chief justice was that Exxon was being ordered to pay $2.5 billion — roughly three weeks’ worth of profits — for destroying a long swath of the Alaska coastline in the largest oil spill in American history.
“So what can a corporation do to protect itself against punitive-damages awards such as this?” Roberts asked in court.
The lawyer arguing for the Alaska fishermen affected by the spill, Jeffrey Fisher, had an idea. “Well,” he said, “it can hire fit and competent people.”
How dare we try to take away three weeks of profits from them! Perhaps this should become the argument over anyone sued – if the damages are more than you make in three weeks you don’t have to pay. Oh I forgot. According to neo-cons we are a nation of double standards; one for business and one for citizens. Of course the citizens are the ones who get screwed every time.