Freedom Industries has filed a petition
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. And that’s not even the worst of it.
The company that is trying to pass the cost of a chemical spill onto the
taxpayers, has not paid its own taxes in years.
More than 30 lawsuits have already been filed against
Freedom Industries, following a chemical spill in West Virginia.
As of Jan. 15th,
more than 30 lawsuits had
been filed against Freedom Industries, the company that tainted water in
nine WV counties. The huge chemical spill has slowly
made its way down the Elk River, further risking water supplies in
Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. Health and safety officials still warn pregnant women not
to drink the water, 8 days after the spill took place.
How is Freedom Industries dealing with
the chemical spill it caused? The company filed for bankruptcy on
January 16, 2014. This was less than a week after the toxic
spill threw the lives of hundreds of thousands of people into chaos. Under
US bankruptcy laws, the company could reorganize and continue to do
business, after passing the burden of the cost of this chemical spill onto the
public.
The company has not paid taxes since the year
2000.
But wait, it gets
worse. Freedom Industries has not paid taxes since
the year 2000. The company currently owes the IRS more than $2.4 million in
unpaid tax debt. Freedom Industries expects that taxpayer money will pay for
the chemical spill it caused, yet it’s been years since this company
has paid a dime into the tax system.
Early estimates show losses related to
the chemical spill will be at least a half billion dollars.
The amount of
environmental and economic damage caused by Freedom Industries massive chemical
spill has yet to be fully seen. Yet Bloomberg reports
that some estimates predict the losses to total at least a half billion
dollars. Those are estimates that only look at lost revenue,
wages, and other economic harm, that was done in WV.
Let’s be clear about this, the cost
to the public is going to be huge.
Both WV Gov. Tomblin
and President Obama declared a state of emergency in WV, allowing
for state and federal dollars to flow freely to the area.
The WV National Guard, WV Bureau of Public Health, WV DEP, FEMA, the US
Corps of Engineers and the US Department of Homeland Security are just a few of
the agencies that have been called upon to spend tax dollars, to
help deal with the chemical spill.
Authorities are
still looking into the cause of the toxic chemical spill. There are also questions surfacing
about whether the company was operating in the parameters of the law. US
Attorney Booth Goodwin announced a formal investigation of the spill, with the
possibility of criminal charges, if negligence is found. The US Chemical Safety
and Hazards Investigation Board and the Occupational Safety and Health
Information Board are also investigating the chemical spill.
If the judge approves the bankruptcy, this
company would be free to ‘reorganize’ and continue operating.
Even as all of these
government agencies expend taxpayer dollars and the number of lawsuits against
the company continue to rise, Freedom Industries declared that their
outstanding debt is just $3.5 million. If the judge approves the bankruptcy,
the company could walk away from all of its financial obligations. Worse,
Freedom Industries would be free to ‘reorganize’ its finances, and free to
repeat this scenario all over again.
Chris Hayes from
MSNBC’s All In With
Chris Hayes says Freedom Industries is “like a shooting
star that leaves a trail of toxic waste and chemicals,” and breaks it down for
us.