Comment Text:
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a Florida resident. Recently, our Senator Bill Nelson, sent emails to Florida residents asking us to contact the CFTC and urge you to curb speculation in food and energy futures. Please see the text of his email at the end of my message.
I ask that you ignore any outcry resulting from Senator Nelson's plea.
You regulate the futures markets and the futures exchanges. You are well-aware of your own rules and the rules of the exchanges. You require that the exchanges follow their own rules.
The exchanges set their margins according to market volatility. Senator Nelson does not seem to understand this.
Our economy depends on open and free markets. Our futures markets are a model for the world to follow. Our futures markets enforce daily mark-to-market, to reduce the possibility of systemic risk. Clearing Corporation members bear the risk in rare cases where mark-to-market is insufficient. It's too bad that our financial service markets are not as sound as our futures markets.
Senator Nelson would have us believe that speculation is currently "excessive". Are we to trust Senator Nelson's knowledge on this topic? He does not define what is "excessive". Perhaps he would have you to contact him on a daily basis to get his blessing on the current level of speculation.
Senator Nelson believes that speculation is responsible for the high price of food and energy. How does he know? He holds out a single news article and accuses traders of "playing games", as if putting one's money at risk is a game. He ignores many fundamental factors that could contribute to higher prices, including his views on restricting off-shore drilling.
Senator Nelson believes that you are ignoring your responsibilities in favor of Wall Street. What proof does he have of this? If he had such proof, why would he ask Florida residents to contact you? That doesn't seem very effective. Shouldn't Senator Nelson contact the Inspector General with his concern?
As much as I dislike paying more for a gallon of gasoline, I have the choice not to purchase it. I am glad that I live in a free country where a person is not forced to sell at a lower price than they wish. I am not always happy about the price I pay, but I'm glad that I can still purchase the product. Perhaps Senator Nelson does not appreciate these things.
Please keep our markets open and free.
Sincerely,
Bill Lynch
16739 Nikki Ln
Odessa, FL 33556
text of Senator Nelson's email:
Dear,
Facebook“A loaf of whole wheat. A gallon of gasoline. A pair of Levi’s. Americans are paying more for many basic items this year, making tough economic times even tougher.”
Part of the reason, according to The New York Times, is that speculators are still playing games in the marketplace. Our regulators allow them to wildly bid up the price for everyday items we need, like wheat, gasoline and heating oil.Click here to read The Times article.
Despite a clear directive from Congress to rein in excessive speculation, our watchdogs in Washington seem to be listening more to Wall Street, and not acting quickly enough to protect American consumers. Consider: On any given day about half of the oil futures contracts are bought and sold by traders, not companies that use oil, like airlines and power companies. And the sky’s the limit when it comes to how much of the market traders can control.
To help stop the manipulation of commodities prices, send an e-mail now to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission - and tell the members to stop speculators from interfering with the price of food and energy. Tell the commissioners to stop listening to Wall Street lobbyists. Tell them to impose meaningful position limits.
And while you’re at it, forward this note to your friends, family and others who care about this issue. If the commission hears from enough folks, it’ll adopt stronger rules next month when a vote is scheduled.
Sincerely,
