Comment Text:
I am Regina Provenza, my husband and I are currently in a situation where we both must drive 45 miles to and from work. I have a Prius, and still we feel the effect of fast rising gas and food prices. We have had circumstances to have to do this for six years. Yes, the answer is for one or both of us to move closer to our jobs, or one of us loose them. In this economic climate the strain of those decisions seem to much. Over speculation of commodities such as grains and oil put too much burden on people who must use them, rather then than just free market pricing, speculation appears to falsely inflate those prices.
I urge you to curb excessive gambling in commodities markets like food and oil.
While many factors contribute to today’s highly volatile commodity prices, it is clear that excessive speculation is partially responsible, as shown in dozens of studies by respected institutions such as Princeton, MIT, Petersen Institute, University of London, Yale, the United Nations and the U.S. Senate.
Speculation thus imposes financial hardships on families around the country. Sudden rises in gas and food prices force us to make difficult decisions and sacrifices. Especially right now, with so many families struggling, and unemployment barely beginning to decrease, we cannot allow speculators to unduly affect our food and gas prices.
Please put in place effective position limits rules, and do not allow them to be undermined by exemptions or exceptions, or allow Wall Street gamblers to escape them.
Thank you for your consideration.
