We should all focus on making life hard for the lobbyists’ clients
The Black Dude in the White House is (predictably) getting a little antsy about the price of gas at the pumps. Obama doesn’t do hot under the collar, he’s more a cool under pressure sort of guy. But further to my post of March 29th, oil price manipulation by the ten-gallon hats is making him slightly tepid under the arm.
In that piece, I wrote “Estimates suggest that 93% of oilco political contributions go to Republican candidates….There are powerful elements in the oil industry who do not like Barack Obama one bit. Again this Friday, Barry hopes to finalise and pass a Bill to remove the oilco tax breaks and subsidies.’.
Yesterday, the President called on Congress to raise civil and criminal penalties on individuals and companies involved in manipulative practices. “We can’t afford a situation where speculators artificially manipulate markets by buying up oil, creating the perception of a shortage, and driving prices higher, only to flip the oil for a quick profit,” Obama commented at his press conference. And he pressed for more money to fund the agency charged with policing the markets to hire “more cops” to oversee price movements.
Equally predictably, GOP spokespeople called the move “an election gimmick”.
The Slog’s view is that neither Party has a tenable position on this one. As my piece last month showed in a way a five year old could grasp, you don’t need a 100 cops to add up three columns and see that the oilcos are obviously cheating the consumer (to raise money for new exploration) and trying to sabotage Obama’s election chances at the same time.
On the other hand, Barack Obama complaining about market manipulation – two overt and one covert QEs on his watch to keep the stock markets high – is a bit rich. Then there’s the gold market, the value of the Dollar, the price of Fed bonds, and the value of the Iranian Rial….all manipulated by those in charge of making Obama look competent.
Meanwhile, Republicans calling his plans ‘a gimmick’ would enjoy more credibility if they weren’t, in at least thirty cases, bankrolled by the Texas Teamen.
It illustrates two recurring themes at this site: the power of money to pervert politics; and the reality of where power now resides in both the US and Great Britain: among the globalist banks, multinational business, and media owners.
None of this matters, because Romney won’t win anyway if the EU manages to avoid meltdown before next October. And even if he wins, he’ll be just another puppet doing the same macabre dance of denial as Obama does today.
Forget lobbying politicians, it’s a waste of time – and none of us have enough money. Focus on – peacefully and legally – hitting monopolistic commerce where it hurts.
The Slog 