Comment Text:
To Whom it May Concern:
As a former Peace Corps volunteer, I'm quite familiar with developing nations whose economies are controlled by the self-serving wealthy, and large corporations - and governments who are too weak to control them.
With the degree to which speculators are wildly bidding up prices for everyday items, I feel as though I'm still in a third world country. Congress has specifically directed that excessive speculation be reined in. Yet, it's not happening. Why is that? Why are the citizens' watchdogs listening more to Wall Street than to the needs of American consumers?
Each day, approximately half of the oil futures contracts are bought and sold by traders, not by companies who use that commodity. So the sky’s the limit when it comes to how much of the market traders can control.
PLEASE HELP STOP THE MANIPULATION of commodities prices! STOP speculators from interfering with the price of food and energy, as Congress has directed. STOP taking your direction from Wall Street lobbyists. IMPOSE meaningful position limits. In short, PLEASE DO YOUR JOB - listen to Congress and protect American consumers from manipulated increases in the prices of the commodities we need, in order to survive day by day.
Show us Americans that we can have faith in our government regulators!
Bonnie Wilpon
6909 Lake View Ct., Tampa, FL 33634
registered voter, returned Peace Corps volunteer and American citizen
