Comment Text:
Hello - my name is Charles Avatar and I drive over 30 minutes to and from work every day, and our family feels the effects of every increase in the price of gas! It has cut into our food and utility budget and now we have stopped going out to shop or to the local restaurants... $3.50 and more per gallon of gas is out of line today.
I urge you to curb excessive gambling in commodities markets like food and oil. And look at the subsidies that the Federal Government is giving to oil companies and large farms growing corn...
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 and pure speculators to use them.
In Summary -
1) We cannot afford a repeat of the 2008 food and gas price bubbles, so the CFTC should put in place strong position limits to control excessive gambling.
2) The CFTC should not allow exemptions or exceptions that undermine the rule, and should not give any exemptions to banks, hedge funds or other financial players.
Thank you for your consideration. I do look forward to your reply.
