The alphabet agencies love to assess impossible fines, and sometimes it pushes the digit limitations on our pocket calculators. It’s no secret the charge amounts like a few hundred bucks a head per day for “trespassing cattle,” Bundy has 700-900 head, and they’ve been on him for over 20 years. Lowball estimate: $200 x 800 cattle x 365 days per year x 20 years.
That’s the thin air to which I was referring. Comes to about $600 Million, if they go full bore at it. Of course, they’ll want to demonstrate how full of compassion they are, and only insist on a few million. The key is it’ll be enough to ruin the rancher, and a “few million” is as good as a “few hundred million,” which was my point. Using government math, it’s way, way larger than the numbers we keep hearing.
That’s why I say “Wait a bit,” because the true assessment will be some unknown amount substantially more than Bundy can pay, even if he were willing to do so (he’s not).
The showdown is far from over. The BLM says it will "continue to work to resolve the matter administratively and judicially," though Bundy still doesn't recognize federal authority over the federal lands that he continues to use in violation of a court order. The federal judge who issued that decision says Bundy's claims "are without merit."
That order from October 2013 says Bundy owes $200 per day per head for every day he fails to move his cattle. That amounts to roughly $640 million in damages owed to the federal government for illegally grazing his cattle.
Well - THAT was a long wait...