Comment Text:
Katherine Smith
3440 Calhoun Rd NE
ROME, GA 30161-1982
March 25, 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, I:
• 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 I urge you to act quickly. Our pocketbooks and the broader economy depend on it.
What you need to realise is that for the people that are lucky enough to still have a job getting there is becoming a hardship with the price of gas. Here in the ruaral areas of Georgia it is not like we have a bus or a train to jump on to get to work, WE MUST DRIVE and it is killing us with the GAS PRICES, and it is killing our employers as well! We are starting to have to make choices like, eat, pay the mortage or rent, or bills or drive to work!!!??? If we don't pay the gas prices we dont' work and we dont get to have the luxury of getting our bills paid! This must STOP!
People are struggling as it is now you keep raising the gas prices on us which effects everyting else. Everything is going up but our wages, for the most part people that are still working have taken cuts just to keep working! Is this fair while your pockets are getting fat ours are empty!
Sincerely,
Katherine Smith
706-802-0404
