Comment Text:
Hello,
My name is Dana Wiggins, an living in a state like Virginia, driving becomes a way of life. I live in a city with terrible public transportation options, so I depend on my car for everything. For my job, I depend on driving to all parts of the state. That requirement is now costing both me and my employer a lot of money in gas, and the trainings we perform have had to be reduced, due to increases in fuel costs. Face to face meetings are a thing of the past, because spikes in fuel costs make it difficult to justify the travel, even when hands on help is what is required. Please impose strong, and strict rules - no exceptions. Its is definitely someone's right to gamble away all their own personal money, this is a free country. However, it is not good for families, individuals, or small businesses when some speculator is gambling the cost of such a vital resource on Wall Street. As a country, we can't afford to allow that kind of gambling, because just like the rest of the financial crisis, those who carelessly gamble oil futures and the price of food commodities, can take our whole economy down, just as we are int he midst of recovery. I hope we have learned our lesson. I hope we have seen oil price spikes and food price hikes, and decided that exceptions to those who have least earned it, has no place in those things which are so vital to the lives of all Americans. Don't let Wall Street get special treatment, it didn't do us any good in 2008, and it will not do our slow recovering economy any good now. Wall Street should have the same strict rules as everyone else. Futures in gas and food should be taken seriously, not allowed to be gambled away, and with it, our security.
I urge you to curb excessive gambling in commodities markets like food and oil. Stability is what will help bring us back from the edge, and excessive Wall Street gambling with exceptions and exemptions will only bring more chaos, hurting our economy and the state of individual families and small businesses even more. spikes in food and gas only hurts those who are the backbone of the economic recovery - don't hurt families and small business while they are already down.
Thank you for your consideration.
Dana Wiggins
