No one, least of all President Barack Obama, should expect oil orgasoline prices to fall because of the five-point plan he unveiledat the White House on April 17. Obama s proposal calls for addingstaff at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to monitor oilmarkets, spending more on information technology to track trading,stiffer penalties for manipulators, limits on the size of the betsspeculators can make, and increased disclosure by the CFTC oftrading data. There s almost no chance that the package will passin Congress, and in any case it would have little effect onnear-term prices. The temptation to blame speculators for higher oil prices, whilewrong-headed, has a certain appeal. It s of a piece with a broadernarrative on display in both the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Partymovements that the benefits of growth are going to anever-narrower slice of the populace. Yet speculators serve a vitalpurpose: helping create a market of buyers and sellers. Manyacademic researchers have found that speculators, by anticipatingfuture price moves, can reduce volatility. As for outright price manipulation? It surely happens, and no onecan take issue with the government trying to catch and punish thosewho break the law. Just don t expect to see the results ofenforcement efforts the next time you fill up. Obama is correct about one point. Republicans are kiddingthemselves and voters when they argue that unfettered drilling inenvironmentally sensitive areas will lead to $2.50-a-gallongasoline. Maybe Obama s adversaries are reminiscing about thosedays not so long ago when gasoline was $1.63 a gallon. That was theprice in December 2008, when it looked as if the world financialsystem might unravel. The short-term market for oil is influenced by forces far beyondthe control of the White House. What a president can do is devisepolicies that promote conservation, encourage the development ofalternative and renewable energy, and work toward smart extractionof domestic fossil fuels. Trying to make the U.S. economy lessdependent on oil, as Obama has done, is the best idea out there. To read Michael Kinsley on Mitt Romney s view of success and AlHunt on key electoral swing groups, go to: Bloomberg.com/view . We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Blowing Filling Capping Machine Manufacturer , Beverage Processing Equipment for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Automatic Liquid Filling Machine.
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