Comment Text:
Karen Cobin
100 Crocus Avenue
Floral Park, NY 11001-2642
April 1, 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.
I find it utterly reprehensible that we are facing this speculative manipulation of markets yet again during the toughest economic times our country has been faced with since the Depression. WWII took us out of the depression; what is going to get us out of this economic disaster? What will help is putting the speculation to bed for good- this steals money from hard working people and continues to make the oil companies richer and those who play the markets. How do you sleep at night knowing you are taking bread from people's hand which feed's themselves and their families. It makes me sick that we continue to be pawns in this hellish chess game.
Time is of the essence, and I urge you to act quickly. Our pocketbooks and the broader economy depend on it.
Sincerely,
Karen Cobin
516-316-1361
