As another data point, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has announced an ongoing investigation into oil price manipulation (linky ) Note that they state that they usually keep investigations confidential, but this one was outed due to “unprecendented market conditions”
Wonder how much the price of a commodity like oil could be manipulated?
Some of this is likely a “Hey, we’re doing everything we can!” self-defense mechanism, but if they find speculators had even a slight impact on fuel prices, what kind of response?
As far as I know, speculation on oil prices is in no way illegal. If I believe prices will go up, it is a perfectly reasonable investment for me to trade in futures that have a gain if the price of oil goes up. If enough people do that, it will certainly cause the price to move up. It can work in the reverse just as easily. It is a near certainty that speculation has caused a significant amount of the price movement. That in no way means that there has been illegal manipulation.
Who says I care how much hydrocarbons get used? I want my cost of living reasonably under control, and these speculators have had a huge part in driving that sky-high. To rationalize it after the fact as good for the environment just makes me hate it more. And it’s wrong, because all they’ll end up doing is cut down on leisure driving, but most people drive out of necessity.
Well, I say, for one. Statistically and historically, it’s much more likely that a dedicated tax on gas would be applied to infrastructure - especially if the bill were written that way in the first way, as are current gas taxes, which are applied to roads. And if you read the history of the rich in this country - a fascinating subject - you’ll find that the ones who put their money to civic use are almost never the speculators, most of whom do go bust in the end. They’re gamblers. They can’t help themselves. (I’m sure there are some exceptions, but that’s not the way to bet.)
Yes, this is happening. Of course, people have been calling for this to happen for many years, getting ignored all the while. Proposals to put a large tax on gas as a social policy - to encourage people to use smaller cars, e.g. - have also been bandied around for decades, because everybody with a brain in their head knew that this day was inevitable and it would be better to start attacking it before it became a crisis.
Well, the crisis is here. But the changes that need to be made, including the ones you mention, can’t happen for another decade or more because it will take that much time to do anything starting from scratch.
The trickle-down theory that speculators’ billions will do the public good is a bedtime fantasy rather than an economic likelihood. I don’t terribly mind that Exxon-Mobil and its ilk are making billions (although their profit margins are actually lower than in other major industries) because I’m sure that that money will go to development, new refineries, and overall job making. But speculators? They have no track record of positively affecting the economy over the past 150 years of capitalist manipulation of stocks and markets. Read the history. It’ll do you good.
Sorry, I misinterpretted your previous post as sarcasm. For what it’s worth, I don’t think they are rationalizing it after the fact as good for the environment. I think it is simply a side effect. It is clear that people that are trading oil are motivated predominantly by either profit or risk management.