OIL PRICES DUE TO WALL STREET GREED SAYS U.S. SENATOR.

IN EARLY 2012 WHEN OIL AND, THEREFORE, GASOLINE  PRICES ROSE REMARKABLY IN JUST ONE MONTH, WHEN AMERICAN DEMAND FOR OIL WAS AT A 15-YEAR LOW BUT AMERICA WAS PUMPING CRUDE AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH, I HAD TO ASK WHY DID GAS PRICES SKYROCKET.

CRUDE OIL WAS $108 A BARREL THEN!
A GALLON OF GAS AT MOST STATIONS IN THE U.S. WAS AROUND $4.00!

WALL STREET WAS ECSTATIC!
THE OIL COMPANIES HAD POSTED OVER A TRILLION DOLLARS IN PURE PROFIT IN JUST ONE DECADE.
THE AVERAGE AMERICAN WAS SWEATING BULLETS TO PAY FOR FUEL.
BUT WALL STREET WAS HAPPY.

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN, GIVEN THE  HIGH PRODUCTION AND LOWER DEMAND, AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

TODAY, WALL STREET IS WHINING AND TUMBLING OVER OIL PRICES BEING SO LOW.
IN SPITE OF ALL THEY CAN DO, NEITHER THE U.S. OIL COMPANIES NOR THEIR BOSOM BUDDIES IN CONGRESS CAN RAISE PRICES AND KEEP THEM UP...FOR NOW. 

ASIDE FROM THE EXTRAORDINARY FEDERAL SUBSIDIES AND TAX LOOPHOLES OFFERED TO BIG OIL, WHAT ELSE CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND THIS CRAZY LINK BETWEEN LOW OIL PRICES AND A LOW MARKET? 

WHAT CAN EXPLAIN THE WALL STREET WHINE WHEN AMERICAN CONSUMERS CATCH A BREAK WITH LOWER OIL/GAS PRICES?

MAYBE AN UNLIKELY SOURCE NAILED THE REASONS IN 2012.  
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT WAS BERNIE SANDERS IN A PIECE ON CNN.   

Wall Street speculators are raking in profits by gambling in the loosely regulated commodity markets for gas and oil.

A decade ago, speculators controlled only about 30% of the oil futures market. Today, Wall Street speculators control nearly 80% of this market. 

Many of those people buying and selling oil in the commodity markets will never use a drop of this oil. 
They are not airlines or trucking companies who will use the fuel in the future. 
The only function of the speculators in this process is to make as much money as they can, as quickly as they can

BERNIE BLEW THE WHISTLE

I've seen the raw documents that prove the role of speculators. 

Commodity Futures Trading Commission records showed that in the summer of 2008, when gas prices spiked to more than $4 a gallon, speculators overwhelmingly controlled the crude oil futures market. 

The commission, which supposedly represents the interests of the American people, had kept the information hidden from the public for nearly three years. 
That alone is an outrage. 
The American people had a right to know exactly who caused gas prices to skyrocket in 2008 and who is causing them to spike today.

Even those inside the oil industry have admitted that speculation is driving up the price of gasoline. 

The CEO of Exxon-Mobil, Rex Tillerson, told a Senate hearing last year that speculation was driving up the price of a barrel of oil by as much as 40%. 

The general counsel of Delta Airlines, Ben Hirst, and the experts at Goldman Sachs also said excessive speculation is causing oil prices to spike by up to 40%. 

Even Saudi Arabia, the largest exporter of oil in the world, told the Bush administration back in 2008, during the last major spike in oil prices, that speculation was responsible for about $40 of a barrel of oil.

Just last week [ this was in February, 2012], Commissioner Bart Chilton, one of the only Commodity Futures Trading Commission members looking out for consumers, calculated how much extra drivers are being charged as a result of Wall Street speculation. 

If you drive a relatively fuel-efficient vehicle such as a Honda Civic, you pay an extra $7.30 every time you fill your tank. 

For larger vehicles, such as a Ford F150, drivers pay an extra $14.56 for each fill-up. That works out to more than $750 a year going directly from your wallet or pocketbook to the Wall Street speculators.

So as speculators gamble, millions of Americans are paying what amounts to a "speculators tax" to feed Wall Street's greed. 

People who live in rural areas like my home state of Vermont are hit harder than most because they buy gas to drive long distances to their jobs.

REGULATORS DON'T REGULATE

The current spike in oil and gasoline prices was avoidable. 

Under the Wall Street reform act that Congress passed in 2010, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was ordered to impose strict limits on the amount of oil that Wall Street speculators could trade in the energy futures market. 

The regulators dragged their feet.

Finally, after months and months of  law-breaking delays, the commission in October (2011) adopted a rule. 

It was a WEAK version of a proposal that might have put meaningful limits on the number of futures and swaps contracts a single trader could hold. 

Even the WATERED-DOWN regulation adopted by the industry-friendly commission was challenged in court. The Financial Markets Association and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association wanted free rein to continue unregulated gambling in the oil markets.

So today, Wall Street once again is laughing all the way to the bank. 

Once again, federal regulators should move aggressively to end excessive oil speculation. 

We must do everything we can to lower gas prices so that they reflect the fundamentals of supply and demand and bring needed relief to the American people."

BUT, BUT, BERNIE...CONGRESS HAS THE REINS!
CONGRESS COULD DO SOMETHING!IF OIL COMPANIES OR BIG CORPORATIONS WERE BREAKING THE LAW, WHY DIDN'T YOU THIEVES ON THE HIL SEND SOMEBODY TO JAIL?

TELL US WHY THEY DON'T PROSECUTE BIG INDUSTRY, WALL STREET'S 'FINEST'!

IS IT BECAUSE THEY GET SO MUCH PAY-OFF MONEY IN THE FORM OF CAMPAIGN "CONTRIBUTIONS" FROM WALL STREET'S DIRTIEST BUNCH?

BLOW THE WHISTLE ON CONGRESS, BERNIE!
TELL AMERICANS THE "REST OF THE STORY"!

MOVING ON TO 2014 IN OUR SEARCH FOR WHY WALL STREET CRIES WHEN OIL PRICES DROP....

November 3, 2014   

AN ELECTION CONNECTION?

"Typically in times of Middle East unrest, prices at the pump spike, yet, despite the violence in Iraq and Syria, a gallon of gas now costs $3, averaged nationally. 

The public hopes it will last.

NEW "EXPLANATIONS"?
The reasons offered for the drop in prices at the pump (which reflects the price of a barrel of oil) are (1) increased North American oil production and  (2) sluggish economic growth in Europe and Asia—which together result in a surplus, or a global glut, of oil."

BUT, WAIT!
THAT HAS TO BE TOTAL 'BS' AS THAT WAS ALSO THE CASE IN 2012, 2 YEARS PRIOR TO THIS ARTICLE.

"Following a multi-decade decline, U.S. oil output now stands at a 28-year high—up 80% since 2008.--  the U.S. equaled Saudi Arabia’s production over the summer and experts predict the U.S. to become the world’s top producer by 2015.

Our country’s oil imports have fallen from 60% of consumption to less than 30%. The data proves out what any beginning economics student knows: more supply + less demand = lower prices. "

NOPE, NO, WRONG!
WE HAD THE SAME SITUATION IN 2012 WHEN GAS PRICES SOARED!
ANYONE CAN GO BACK AND DIG OUT THE DATA THAT SHOWS RECORD PRODUCTION IN 2012, RECORD LOW DEMAND...SO WHY THE CHANGE FROM 2012 TO 2014?

BLAME ISIS FOR LOWER PRICES?

NO WAY ON EARTH!

"ISIS doesn’t abide by any international agreements or price regulations. This is a “black market.” There are no tangible income or production numbers. We don’t definitively know all of ISIS’ customers."

THAT IS A TINY DROP IN THE OLD OIL BUCKET, NOT EVEN A CONSIDERATION IN HOW PRICES CHANGED, SINCE THE U.S. DOESN'T BUY FROM ISIS, NOR DOES BRITAIN, GERMANY, FRANCE, ITALY, ETC.

TRY AGAIN...
WHAT ELSE COULD WE POSSIBLY USE AS A REASON FOR THE DECLINE, THE CONTINUED DECLINE, AND WHY WALL STREET WEEPS OVER IT?

SAUDI ARABIA?
NOPE!

"The Saudi kingdom reportedly needs oil at $83.60 a barrel to balance its national budget. Yet, in September, with prices already down, due to a global oil glut, the Saudis boosted production. Then, in October, they lowered prices by increasing the discount offered to their Asian customers. Oil prices have reached the lowest level in nearly four years. Despite calls for price hikes from other OPEC nations, primarily Venezuela (which recently announced food rationing), the Saudi policy will not likely change before the November 27 OPEC meeting.

Saudi Arabia’s price war has surprised the markets and made watchers wonder what they are up to. With its government 85% dependent on its oil revenues, the Saudis need to protect their turf as the dominant force in oil."

OH, COME ON!
HOW MUCH OIL DOES THE U.S. ACTUALLY GET FROM SAUDI ARABIA?
YOU MAY BE SURPRISED THAT AMERICA BUYS SO MUCH OF ITS OIL IMPORTS  FROM NON-OPEC NATIONS.
SEE THE STATS <HERE> .
THOSE WERE RELEASED IN OCTOBER, 2015.

DIDN'T THIS ARTICLE JUST SAY IT WAS BLOODY LITTLE?

DIDN'T WE ACTUALLY CUT OUR BUYS FROM THE SAUDIS?
INDEED WE DID...SO THAT ISN'T THE REASON FOR THE DROP AND WHINE.

SO, NO, AMERICA, THERE WAS NO "ELECTION CONNECTION"...JUST THE USUAL BUSINESS AS USUAL, EXCEPT WALL STREET LOST A BIT OF CONTROL ...JUST ENOUGH TO ALLOW US TO ENJOY LOWER PRICES AT THE PUMPS.

SO, BIG NAMES ON WALL STREET INCREASED THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING.
IT WAS A BUMPER CROP  YEAR ALL ACROSS AMERICA, EVEN IN  DROUGHT-PLAGUED CALIFORNIA, BUT THERE AND IN TEXAS AND FLORIDA, ALL OVER, GROWERS WERE UP IN ARMS BECAUSE THE MAJOR GROCERY CHAINS AND THEIR BUYERS WERE IGNORING THE BOUNTY, AND MANY FARMS SAW THEIR CROPS ROTTING IN THE FIELDS.

FOOD PRICES SOARED.
SOME ITEMS WERE NOT FOUND IN STORES, EVEN STAPLES, PAPER GOODS, WHICH SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED.

BLOOMBERG SPILLED THE BEANS ABOUT HOW MUCH FOOD IS OUT THERE,HOW LITTLE FARMERS ARE GETTING FOR IT, BUT FAILED TO EXPLAIN THE COST OF FOOD TO CONSUMERS.

 According to EVEN the World Bank, the rise in food prices is hardly an isolated event; worldwide, internationally traded food prices have risen again by a steep 4.0%. 

Corn and wheat, in particular, contributed to the rise as each increased 12% and 18% worldwide THIS year, respectively. 

NOW, WITH OIL/GAS/DIESEL PRICES DOWN, SHOULDN'T COST OF DELIVERING, EVEN PROCESSING AMERICAN GROCERY ITEMS HAVE DECREASED AS WELL?

WITH A RECORD HARVEST IN ALMOST ALL STATES, WHY WOULDN'T PRICES DROP?
JUST MAKES SENSE, RIGHT?

NOT IN AMERICA, INC!

PRICE PRESSURES FROM INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION

"Perhaps the largest price pressure stemming from the processors and packagers (the intermediaries) in our food system is consolidation; that is, mergers and acquisitions. As reported previously, Big Food’s consolidation often indirectly spells higher food prices as a result of a lack of competition in the marketplace. 

USA Today reported earlier this month that beef and veal prices are expected to rise 6% in the next few months, and around 3.5% this year overall."

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS?
MIGHT WE TRANSLATE THAT TO INDUSTRY MANIPULATION?

WE SIMPLY HAVE TO FACE IT, FOLKS.

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WALL STREET'S BIG BOYS WILL MAKE A PROFIT.
IF OIL DROPS, THEY FIND A NEW WAY TO GOUGE AMERICAN CONSUMERS.

SENDING MILLIONS OF JOBS OVERSEAS, WHERE LABOR IS CHEAPER AND PROFITS CAN QUADRUPLE FOR AMERICAN-BASED MANUFACTURERS, WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE MADE LIFE, i.e. COSTS OF GOODS CHEAPER FOR US, REMEMBER?

REMEMBER THE PROMISES OF NAFTA?
REMEMBER WHAT YOUR CONGRESSMEN SAID BEFORE IT PASSED, THEIR EXCUSES FOR VOTING YES ON SENDING JOBS OUT OF THE COUNTRY?

WHEN THAT ALMOST DESTROYED OUR ECONOMY, COST MILLIONS THEIR JOBS, THEN CONGRESSMEN LINED UP TO SWEAR ON NATIONAL TV THAT THEY HADN'T HAD TIME TO READ NAFTA, SO IT WASN'T THEIR FAULT IT WENT BADLY.

MOST BLAMED CLINTON, BUT THAT BABY WAS GEORGE H.W. BUSH'S LONG-TIME DREAM...SO MUCH SO THAT IT WAS GHWB WHO WENT DOWN TO MEXICO AND SIGNED OFF ON IT WITH THE MEXICAN PREZ, REMEMBER?

LIARS.WE'RE SURROUNDED BY THEM.

I THINK IT JUST  BOILS DOWN TO THE COLLUSION BETWEEN WALL STREET AND OUR "LAWMAKERS".

GREED MAKES FOR STRANGE, BUT VERY DEDICATED BEDFELLOWS.

IF CORPORATIONS TAKE A HIT IN ONE AREA, WATCH CONGRESS STEP IN TO CREATE NEW WAYS FOR THEM TO PROFIT SOMEWHERE ELSE...ALL AT OUR EXPENSE.

REGULATIONS AREN'T WORTH A TINKER'S EARTHEN DAM WHEN CONGRESS WON'T ENFORCE RULES OR REGULATIONS, WHEN CONGRESSMEN THEMSELVES GET RICHER FROM HELPING WALL STREET PROFIT.

THAT SO MANY EX-CONGRESSMEN TAKE JOBS WITH MAJOR CORPORATIONS, OR BECOME LOBBYISTS FOR THEM SHOULD SHOW US THAT "LOVE CONNECTION" JUST GOES ON AND ON...
IT'S AN "ENDLESS LOVE".

BERNIE WAS ONTO SOMETHING, BUT THERE'S MORE TO IT THAN HE TOLD US.

MAYBE, IF HE WANTS TO BE "THE KING" BADLY ENOUGH, HE'LL TELL US THE WHOLE TRUTH, GIVE OTHERS A BLACK EYE?

NAAAAH, THAT WON'T HAPPEN.
BERNIE HAS TO HAVE CAMPAIGN BUCKS, TOO.

ENJOY LOWER GAS PRICES, HEATING FUEL, ETC, WHILE YOU MAY, FOLKS.

PREPARE TO PAY FOR THAT IN SOME OTHER WAY UNTIL "THE STREET" CAN GET A GALLON BACK UP TO $4.00 OR MORE.

FOLLOW THE MONEY, AMERICANS.   

"Overall, lawmakers are even wealthier than in previous years, according to an analysis of their 2011 financial disclosure statements, and 257 of them -- seven more than in 2010 -- are millionaires."

THAT MATCHES THE STORY ON THE MEGA-CORPORATIONS!

"Corporate profits are at a 60-year high, while corporate taxes are near a 60-year low "
GO READ THE FOLLOWING TWO WEBSITES FOR A BIT...SEE WHAT YOU FIND.

~ FOLLOW THE MONEY

~OPEN SECRETS

BE SURE TO VISIT THE LOBBYISTS WEBPAGE FROM 'FOLLOW THE MONEY'...SEE WHO BUYS WHOM.

OH, BTW, BANKS MAY START CHARGING US TO HAVE ACCOUNTS, MAKE DEPOSITS... 

" Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen suggested the Fed might consider negative interest rates, which effectively means financial institutions would charge customers to keep money in an account. 

Several of Europe's ailing commercial banks have imposed the measure in a desperate attempt to reinvigorate the economy.

DENMARK, FOR EXAMPLE.

But in the United States, banks have generally tried to entice customers with various interest rate advantages and other banking benefits, such as free checking and savings or even free money to open accounts. That could soon change..."

THAT BEGAN HAPPENING IN BOSTON LAST MONTH.

LIKE I SAID, WE'RE SURROUNDED.