BP (NYSE:BP) Getting Sued by Alabama County School System Over Property Taxes

BP (NYSE:BP) is getting sued by the Mobile County school system in Alabama over alleged loss of revenue from lower value of homes which resulted in reduced property taxes.

The county claims this is the result of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to Mobile County schools Superintendent Roy Nichols, he will have a study conducted to ascertain the effects on the school system from the supposed loss in revenue.

Nichols incredibly says, "I believe we will get some money because we deserve it. We've been harmed and we need to be made whole."

Other allegations are the country lost revenue from other sources and jobs that have disappeared.

The idea that the country "deserves" money from BP is of course ludicrous. They deserve nothing at this time, as there is no proof the cause of the alleged loss of revenue is from a reduction in property taxes that came about from the Gulf oil spill.

How about the loss in revenue from the housing market that has property taxes around the U.S. plunging? Is all of that from BP?

It's unclear how the drop in property value from the recession can be distinguished from the alleged loss in property value from the Gulf oil spill.

If counties in other regions of the Gulf haven't suffered very similar losses, than it could be it has nothing to do with the oil spill and everything to do with the ongoing fallout from the housing crisis, which has entered into what many are identifying as a double-dip housing recession.

To attempt to use the Gulf oil crisis as a reason for the loss in tax revenue is cynical at best.

How about cutting back on big government services and overpaid teachers? The private sector is paying these outrageous wages and benefits, which are far above what the business is able to pay.

Why taxpayers should have their productivity taxed in order to allow big government and overpaid government employees continue on as they are is ridiculous. Cut the taxes and size of government. Cut the bloat. That's the answer. Using the BP oil spill as means of making up for government bloat is unethical.