When is an "oil shortage" not an oil shortage? When there is no rationing and oil is available . Why do we have high-priced oil if there is no oil shortage? We have high-priced oil because market speculators, hedge funds and commodity funds have poured billions into the oil futures market . This has driven up the price of oil and effectively distorted the relationship between actual supply and demand.
The enabling legislation that allows market manipulation was passed in December 2000. It was called the Commodities Futures Modernization Act. It provided for no oversight or regulation for the newly introduced financial derivatives called "swaps". That allowed organizations like Enron to speculate in the futures and energy markets with little or no margin and with "off books" entities. That Enron tailored legislation has been subsequently tailored for mainline investors like CALPERS (California's giant pension fund). The rest is history.
Former Texas Senator Phil Gramm was the lead Senator in introducing the legislation. He is a close advisor to Presidential hopeful John McCain. Look out! Also Wendy Gramm, who just happened to be the head of the Commodity Furures Trading Commission and Phil's wife, some 8 years earlier through an executive ruling exempted Enron from CFTC positions limits and regulations. And the rest is history.
Goldman Sachs is suspected of playing a prominent role in the oil futures price manipulation. Our last two Secretarys of the Treasury were former Goldman Sachs CEOs-Robert Rubin and Henry Paulson. Do you think that Goldman has gotten too big for the country's good?
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