Dems target Wall Street speculators over rising gas prices

Dems target Wall Street speculators over rising gas prices

Congressional Democrats are pressuring Wall Street "speculators" to
somehow pull back from oil and gasoline markets.

This looks like an attempt to appease voters who are obviously
jolted by high gas prices recently.

Attempts to somehow blame Obama have been rampid.

The price of oil and also gasoline are determined by the
"market price" set by a bid and ask system.

It is a worldwide market.

Many "speculators" are actually hedging against future price spikes
whether prices go up or down.
(you can make a profit when prices fall too !)

With all the hoopla and "speculation" about Iran lately, the prices have been bid
higher perhaps by emotional fears and by smart gamblers.
(or even by price fixers who "make" the price go up or down with "over speculating"
and by touting false supply/demand reports)

I wonder how much the politicians have made ??

The commodity markets control the basic prices, not the politicians.

The only way to actually "control" oil prices is to outlaw speculation
and then somehow regulate the final price based on actual cost
with a minimal profit. (I think)

I don't know how much gas would cost with that scenario ?

I'm not sure if more domestic oil exploration and transportation would help either.


Published March 10, 2012
FoxNews.com

Democrats in Congress increasingly are putting pressure on Wall Street speculators to pull back from the oil markets, effectively blaming them for the unseasonable spike in oil and gas prices -- which has caused a headache for the White House as well as cash-strapped families.

For weeks, Republicans have called for more domestic oil production while Democrats push anew for clean-energy investment. It's the same fight that plays out almost every time gas prices surge, and one that is particularly shrill in an election year.

But Obama will be blamed anyway ?

But as President Obama argues there's little his administration can do in the short-term to ease the pain at the pump, congressional Democrats this past week claimed federal regulators could have an effect by cracking down on Wall Street.

"We have a responsibility to ensure that the price of oil is no longer allowed to be driven up by the same Wall Street speculators who caused the devastating recession that working families are now experiencing," wrote 70 lawmakers in a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Investors like hedge funds are big players in the oil markets, bidding on futures contracts and potentially affecting the price of oil. How big of an impact those speculators have, and whether they actually serve a constructive purpose, is a matter of fierce debate.

Obama Gas

I believe in the free market. But oil, like it or not, is the life's blood of modern society. Letting such an important thing be subjected to the whims of emotion that accompany speculation, allowing the price to be jacked up by people who are trying to make a quick buck, is just pure lunacy as far as I'm concerned.

I believe in letting people make money, but not when them making that money holds the rest of us hostage and can affect us negatively so directly.

Originally posted by xuenchen

But Obama will be blamed anyway ?

Why not? If Democrats could blame Bush, why can't Republicans blame Obama?

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Blaming Bush for High Gas Prices



Flashback - Pelosi '07: Blames Bush for $3.07 Gas, In '12 Blames 'Speculators'

Flashback - Pelosi '07: Blames Bush for $3.07 Gas, In '12 Blames 'Speculators'

“Drivers are paying a heavy price for the Bush administration’s failure to enact a comprehensive energy strategy,” Pelosi said.

“Years of Bush Administration's policies that have favored big oil over the consumers have resulted in record dependence on foreign oil, leaving American families and businesses to pay even higher prices.”

/TOA

reply to post by AnIntellectualRedneck


I used to advise a friend with his futures speculations. He made a ton of money in a very short time (six months).

Then he stopped listening to me and decided to go with his GF's advice and lost it all in days. I don't play with futures for that very reason. You can make money fairly fast and lose it all in the blink of a eye.

Playing futures is a job in and of itself.

Originally posted by The Old American

Originally posted by xuenchen

But Obama will be blamed anyway ?

Why not? If Democrats could blame Bush, why can't Republicans blame Obama?

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Blaming Bush for High Gas Prices

Why? Was it successful?

they should target the FED for devaluing the dollar instead, idiots.

reply to post by The Old American


I have to agree and here is a quote from Obama

In 2007, when the average national price ranged from $2.17 to $3.22, then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., demanded that the Federal Trade Commission investigate Big Oil for "price manipulation." In 2008, presidential candidate Obama urged the Justice Department "to open an investigation into whether energy traders have been engaged in illegal activities that have helped drive up the price of oil and food."

Obama also called for "a windfall profits penalty on oil selling at or over $80 per barrel." As of Christmas 2010, a barrel of oil sold at slightly above $90. What happened to the windfall profits tax?

Washington examiner
If Obama thought the windfall tax was such a great idea, then why not enact it as President? Bush increased the oil reserves by 40 million barrels and blamed for the price increase. If that were the case, then lower the reserves.