How Did the Gulf Coast Spend the $754 Million From BP?

BP has paid more than $754 MILLION to state and city governments in the Gulf Coast region because of the oil spill.  The money came with almost no strings attached . . . just that it had to be loosely tied to recovering from the spill.

And the governments that got the money REALLY took that whole “loosely tied to the recovery” thing seriously.  Here are some of the things that they’ve purchased . . .

Biloxi, Mississippi bought 14 SUVs and pickup trucks, two boats, two dump trucks, and a backhoe loader.

A $35,000 2011 Chevy Tahoe went to the mayor of Biloxi so he could get to, quote, “countless meetings” about the oil spill.

Ocean Spring, Mississippi bought Tasers for all of their reserve police officers . . . it’s not clear how that was related to the spill.

In one Florida county, which was kept anonymous, $14,000 went to the county commissioner’s girlfriend so she could open up a PR firm to spread good news about the area.

The head of the Lafourche, Louisiana parish bought herself a top-of-the-line iPad because, quote, “I must be in contact at all times.”  Her spokesman got a $3,165 Dell computer because work on the spill wore out his one-year-old computer.

Florida spent $560,000 on three concerts . . . Kenny Loggins, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Doobie Brothers.  They played on Okaloosa Island to show that the spill hadn’t ruined tourism in the area.  Or whatever.  Let’s hear “China Grove”!

Via (Associated Press)