The headline of Saturday's New York Times says, BP Is Criticized Over Oil Spill, But U.S. Missed Chances to Act. There's a lot of back and forth that's politically-motivated right now, but I'm still left with a basic question.

The Deepwater Horizon rig that sank was one of the furthest off the U.S. coastline, well beyond our international borders. The criticism now is that the federal government didn't act fast enough and relied too heavily on the owner and operator of the rig, Transocean and British Petroleum, to assess the problem and contain the leaking oil. People are saying that the slow response of the government, as in the case of Hurricane Katrina, will be a contributing factor to whatever damage ultimately occurs.

So how about this for a question...or questions.

• The Deepwater Horizon rig was privately-owned and operated by foreign companie in non-U.S. waters. Why should the federal or even state governments have gotten involved at all? Isn't this a situation caused by private companies that should be solved by private companies? Do we only rely on the free market when it's convenient?

• If the answer is that both state and federal government agencies should have become involved even earlier than they did, shouldn't it be argued that the governments are just as responsible for damages done to the coastline and the economies of the region damaged by the oil as are Transocean, the owner of the rig, and British Petroleum, who leased and operated it? Shouldn't a court find that when those injured by the oil finally file suit(s), that Transocean and BP as well as both the state and federal governments should be held responsible to pay the costs of the cleanup and any resulting economic damages?

For those who say that the free market should always prevail, that functions beyond national defense and international affairs should not be the role of the federal government, and that the government is already too involved in our daily lives...what are the answers?

We can't have it both ways, can we? Can we expect the government to get involved in private situations some times, but most of the time demand on the free market and the private sector to both create economic growth as well as resolve any problems they may have created by doing so?

Would the Tea Party have an opinion here? If they do, I haven't heard it yet.