Re: back to the land policies

"As it is, limiting oil companies' liability rewards taking unreasonable risk because all the profits are BP's but the liabilities end up going to the government (meaning, everyone as taxpayer).

And that is not because of too little regulation. It is because of too much. Every industry has full liability - until they get a NEW LAW exempting them from it. If the government hadn't distorted the natural market incentives, which include pay for it if you screw up, the oil spill wouldn't have happened or wouldn't have been as bad as it now is."

No. Liabilities as such are creations of government action. In "natural market incentives", liabilities fall neither to the industry nor to government/everyone as taxpayer, but rather to people who have the misfortune to be affected.