Posted on 06/26/2008 8:17:27 PM PDT by Fractal Trader
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legislation that directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use all its authority, including the agency's emergency powers, to "curb immediately" the role of excessive speculation in energy futures markets.
Hedge funds, pension funds and other speculators have been blamed by many lawmakers and some energy experts for doubling the price for crude oil in the last year. The Bush administration disagrees, saying high prices are the result of world oil production not being able to keep up with growing global fuel demand.
The bill easily cleared the House in a 402-to-19 vote. The Senate must still take up the measure.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, would require the CFTC to act against "sudden or unreasonable fluctuations" in energy futures prices and other trading activities that "prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand for energy commodities."
"It opens up a set of new tools they are not using," said Maryland Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen, referring to the agency's emergency powers.
"The American people should not be punished at the pump for the actions of oil speculators," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
(Excerpt) Read more at uk.reuters.com ...
Together with earlier actions to criminalize oil price gouging, our government, in its infinite wisdom, lets us know what is wrong with our economy.
Fluorescent lightbulbs, Al Gore Toilets, and insane ethanol subsidies -- when it comes to energy, I wish it had been added to freedom of speech and the ability to congregate in the masses as part of the first amendment. That would seem to be the only way that we could get the government out of the energy business.
The fastest way to bring down oil prices is for congress to impeach itself for incompetence.
Stopwatches all set...here we go.
Speculators are only pointing out what will happen to us in the future if we don’t drill and harvest what we already have at our disposal.
They’re not the bad guys. The libs and the rinos are the culprits.
Norm Coleman. Tim Pawlenty. John McCain.
Fine! Let it pass and then when it doesn’t lower prices it takes away another excuse from the Rats.
Vote out every Incumbent, period.
Message sent.
Leave it to the Democrats to make a bad situation infinitely worse.
And McCain/Pawlenty is also a possible Presidential ticket.
It’s about time something is being done about the futures market. They are a large part of why gas prices are so high.
(1) It seems to assume that oil prices are being driven upwards merely (or, at least, primarily) by the actions of speculators. This willfully ignores both (a) the role of India and China, as emerging economic powers, whose citizens are increasingly demanding more of a fungible product; and (b) the intransigence of almost all Democrats on the subject of our drilling in ANWR (and on this matter, even Sen. McCain has a similar problem) and our building new refineries.
(2) It could easily serve as a mere diversion--an opportunity to trumpet, "We DID something!"--while continuing to oppose our doing anything that might lead to our self-sufficiency in this area. And the Democrats have an almost theological devotion to their environmental agenda--a devotion that is utterly impervious to all reasoned discussion.
Possible, but, unlikely.
By then, the rats will be victimizing some other group. Our public schools have seen to it that most voters are hopelessly ignorant about basic economics.
If those elected idiots want to do something raise the margin requirement on oil contracts to 50%
Oil prices are not driven by speculation in the futures market.
The Democrats are speculating — they’re speculating that the price of oil will decline soon, as the market fundamentals are changing. They may be right. They will then get credit for what is only a coincidence.
If that’s true, then these speculators are going to lose their shirts when the price of oil plummets. There is no way that Congress can fix this.
the wall street journal says speculation doesn’t control prices.
Democrats are clueless. They keep looking for a scapegoat to hang their incompetence on. Their energy policy of the last 20 years caused the problem and everyone knows it. They just won’t admit it.
. The "rats" are not the only ones. Don't forget that McCain has repeatedly attacked, speculators, "greed," and "obscene profits." He also slammed Mitt Romney because Romney fired people while McCain "served" people. Ain't a dime's worth of difference on that issue between McCain and Obama.
Why dont they do something useful, like vote to allow oil exploration/drilling?
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