Comment Text:
Stopping the energy speculators is easy. Put the law back the way it was before 1991. If you purchase oil, you must take delivery of the oil
The CFTC let speculators into the oil-trading market back in 1991. J. Aron, the trading unit that hired Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO Lloyd Blankfein, requested and got an exemption that allowed it to trade oil even though it wasn't going to take delivery. Once J. Aron got through that door, so did many others -- including Enron. Remember how that turned out?
In 2008 the Commodities Futures Trading Commission discovered that 81% of the trading volume in oil was being conducted by speculators. Put another way, businesses that actually use the oil, such as airlines, were doing just 19% of the trading. The vast majority was done by hedge funds and investment banks to make a quick buck.
Hedge funds say they need to use oil to hedge against other bets. They are betting both ways. Where else can you put in $10 and no matter what happens you get $1000 out.
They are raping America. And they are allowed to in trade for campaign contributions.
Before 1991 gas prices were actually based on real supply and demand. Not speculator demand.
