Apparently, our President is now telling us the answer to putting a saddle on underregulated commodities markets--at least as far as the oil industry's concerned-- is to "Drill! Baby, Drill!" And, who says that "knowing the problem is half the solution?" Mind-boggling! Breaking via Reuters in the past hour...
(I'm sure we'll get some much-needed "clarification" on this statement from the White House before the day's over.)
Obama points at speculators for hiking fuel prices
Jeff Mason
Reuters
WASHINGTON, April 19 | Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:52pm IST
WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday there was enough oil in world markets to meet demand, indicating speculators were to blame for rising gasoline prices.
Speaking at a community college in nearby Virginia, Obama said increasing production of U.S. oil and creating a market for fuel-efficient cars would help meet the country's energy challenges...
From my diary on Saturday....
...this brings us full circle tonight, to a very inconvenient reality, as you'll realize below, which may be summed up in two words: "What oversight?"
You see, all of this kabuki in Washington and all of this pain on Main Street--whether we're talking about Senator Levin referring criminal fraud and perjury charges against senior Goldman Sachs' executives over to the DoJ and the SEC for market manipulation and outright theft, or the recent speculator-driven spike in the price of oil--it's all happening right now because the very concept of regulatory oversight of the status quo is little more than a sham.
As I noted in my diary on July 29th, 2009, in the run-up to the market meltdown in 2008, even the CFTC acknowledged, thanks to Matt Taibbi's reporting at the time, that Wall Street speculators caused the great oil price spike of 2008.
So, here we are, almost three years later, and what do we have? On Wednesday, according to Barry Ritholtz over at the Big Picture blog and David Wilson at Bloomberg, it's freakin' Groundhog Day! Oil prices are being driven through the roof by...drumroll please...speculators!
Is anything being done about this? Well, some folks are making some noise, but don't hold your breath! Even though the top pundits at Goldman Sachs are now telling us that ongoing, rising oil prices might undermine what little recovery there is currently going on around Main Street, we are talking about Wall Street and big oil's clout, combined, on that one!
And, speaking of Goldman Sachs, as far as all of that criminal evidence is concerned relating to market manipulation, criminal fraud and perjury that Senator Levin's committee just referred to the SEC (if they're even going to get enough funding to pursue the matter properly) and the DoJ...do you honestly think that the real masterminds behind the greatest financial pillaging of a society in human history will even be singled out and formally acknowledged, let alone prosecuted?
Here's a clue: The real real answer NOT just about a couple of collateralized debt obligations named Abacus and Magnetar.It's a story about lying to congress and investigators about one's debt exposure in the AIG deal. It's about manipulating the commodities sector and the credit default swaps marketplace. And, it's about having a formally-authorized get-out-of-jail-free card--at least if you're the U.S. Treasury Secretary--too.
The Beltway talking points rollercoaster of Wall Street/Big Oil speak-is writ large here. The President goes from the sublime to the ridiculous in one fell swoop.
Here's my solution to spiking gas prices: Show Tim Geithner the door, and let the CFTC properly regulate the commodities markets. (If you wish to learn more about what I'm referencing, click on the links, above.)