Comment Text:
It is my understanding that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has as one of it's responsibilties the representation of consumers and protection from profeteer whose only interest is to gamble on the volitility of the market. Commodities such as food and energy should be serverly regulated to stop greedy profiteers from generating personal profits at the expense of consumers without regard for the damage they are causing to middle class spending.
Speculators cause market prices for crude oil to raise based on the assumption that political turmoil in the middle east will reduce the oil supply. While the oil supply is finite it is not like a water spiget. It can not be turned of with the flip of a switch. The entire world runs on oil and the sellers of crude oil will keep pumping it out to the market, even in the worst of circumstances.
THERE IS NO OIL SHORTAGE! the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should be representing the consumers not the commodity brokers.
I will be writing to my representative in congress to urge them to establish a requirement that trader who have the capital to back spikes in oil prices be required to take possession of a percentage of the oil they buy. Not possession on paper or in some data base, but actual physical possession. It will help the realestate market with the sale of land and create jobs in the building sector as storage facilities are built. It will also mean jobs to maintain the facilities (security, maintenance, administration, etc) and with a physical inventory on hand it can be considered part of a strategic reserve for consumers, reducing the spikes in prices.
