Read this before you go to bed tonight you douche bag politicians. http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/27/new...undrum_Birger.fortune/?postversion=2008062713
I read that when it first came out. I'm sure if a politician read this the answer would be "Well, this time it's different."
What cracks me up is that every credible finance/econ. guy , bernanke, buffet, pickens, etc.. say that speculation has next to nothing to do with oil prices but that seems to go through one ear and out the other.
The only thing this will accomplish in the long run IF it passes is for oil producers to depeg their currency from the USD (probably would happen eventually anyway but this will speed up the process). This in turn will mean HIGHER oil prices for us in the US, a weaker USD (ie higher prices of everything else as well), add to inflationary preasures and the trade deficit, increase interest rates, and weaken the position of US financial markets further, other than that it is a kick ass idea. The politicians are really earning their pay this year, maybe we should double it if they all promised to just go home for the remainder of their term.
Tah Dah! This is what the idiots are not taking into account, but as someone else said in an earlier post they have to make a "gesture" to voters, show us that they care!
Well that's no good for the fools in Washington. They always want the simple solution that they can sell to the average idiot. The real solution would require a lot of effort and for the parties to work together on something.
in some jurisdictions, it's illegal to even scalp concert tickets. the lawmakers or public don't care if you short in making money or prices are low for things they need like gas and wheat.. but when they hear about speculators pushing price of oil to $150/barrel or 300% increase in 1 year..you asking for the cops to crack down on speculation.
Yep. Funds and Investment Banks trade offshore. Little guys get screwed. Whose upping prices? The piker retail spec? Or the vast sea of pension, hedge and investment funds? This is window dressing. All this speculation would end quite abruptly if the FED increased margin from 2% to 7%. Its not specs or funds, its interest rates...