Comment Text:
Leonard, Terrisa & Misty Kienzynski
469 David Drive
Bloomfield, IN 47424-1065
March 27, 2011
David Stawick
Secretary, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20581
Dear Mr. Stawick:
Excessive speculation hurt the economy in 2008 and, once again, is harming the economy in 2011. According to data recently released by the Commission, speculators have raised their positions in energy markets by
64 percent compared to June 2008, bringing speculation to the highest level on record.
We need meaningful, effective speculative position limits to restore balance to commodities markets and ensure that they are connected to market fundamentals, so that they fulfill their price-discovery function properly and without distortions caused by excessive speculation. In particular, we Kienzynski's here in Bloomfield, Indiana:
• support the Commission's immediate adoption of spot-month speculative position limits; • urge the Commission to adopt effective back-month levels that will accomplish the legislative purpose of curbing excessive speculation; • urge the Commission to adopt single-month limits that are no higher than two-thirds of the all-months-combined levels; • urge the Commission immediately to adopt a position-accountability regime for the nonspot months in place of its proposed position-visibility rule; and • urge the Commission to adopt lower speculative position limits for passive, long-only traders.
Time is of the essence, and we Kienzynski's urge you to act quickly. Our pocketbooks and the broader economy depend on it.
We urge the CFTC to adopt speculative position limits that protect
American consumers and our economy from the volatility and high prices
that excessive speculation causes. Further, we believe that efficient,
rational commodity markets need effective position limits, transparency
and a regulator that guards against market distortions caused by excessive
speculation, as well as fraud and market manipulation.
Still further, with regard to crude oil speculation, we believe a trader
must be required to prove that the trader has the capability and yet
further, the trader must be required to take actual delivery of the
product(s) and not just buy and sell crude oil on "paper" (or any other
product) solely to profit from the transaction at the consumer's expense
which further creates an artificial rise in demand on paper with a
corresponding "actual" rise in price for us consumers. Especially when
there is a "known world-wide glut of crude oil and gasoline" available at
the present time.
Presently, traders have corrupted the original intent of why a commodity
market was originally created in the first place, with their "rampant
speculative practices" at our (the consumer's) expense solely to make a
quick profit on paper.
We further believe that this rampant speculation must be brought under
control with strict and enforced regulation.
Sincerely,
Leonard, Terrisa & Misty Kienzynski
8123843010
