It is happening!
Congress passed a veto-proof bill stopping the idiotic buying of oil for the reserves at record prices, cutting stocks and helping raise prices- one boondoggle down.
Congress is working on (the house passed it, Senate is expected to follow) a bill (called NOPEC) to end sovereign immunity of OPEC in our courts, allowing the Justice Dept and Federal trade Commision to charge collusionary restraining trade practices. Such actions against offshore syndicates are not unusual and have been highly effective.
"Rep. Edward Markey pointed out in recent House hearings that the oil companies currently have drilling rights to 30 million acres both on shore and offshore that they are not using. Given their performance, given their massive earnings on the backs of everyday Americans, given their lack of meaningful innovative initiatives to curtail our fossil fuel dependency, now perhaps more than ever is the time for Congress to consider the creation of National Oil Trust to develop both economically and in an environmentally friendly manner the nations hydrocarbon resources, not exclusively for the benefit of a handful of wealthy and powerful oil companies but for the nation as a whole. This could be achieved much in the spirit of, and in the example of Norway's National Oil Trust through which that nation's oil and gas riches accrue to all its citizens (please see "The Oil Industry is Driving Away With Our Future- The Norway Solution" 04.24.06). Clearly, an American National Oil Trust venturing to develop the Alaskan ANWAR Refuge would have a totally different resonance in the halls of government and among our citizenry than its development being left to an oil industry that has lost its credibility or an Exxon Mobil adding another billion to its bottom line." http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20080601/cm_huffpost/104095;_ylt=AoBpo5oa9zINzZLfmlBdVMMd6sgF
Same OPED:
"- Speculation in oil and oil product markets has distorted the realities of market logic. On May 22nd the price of oil on the trading exchanges topped an all time high of $135 per barrel. On that day Iran had fifteen fully loaded tankers waiting in harbor with no place to go "waiting for greater demand to lift spot prices as well" (translation-couldn't find a buyer). Russian crude was selling at a $5.00 a barrel discount a to its equivalent North Sea crude on the spot market, if and when there were any takers. And yet long dated futures contracts were selling at significant premiums (at contango) largely in reaction to Saudi Arabia's announcement that they would not expand their production capabilities in the future beyond the long since promised 12.5 million barrels currently planned by 2009. Nor would they commit to any significant increase in current production as needed to signal to a market that prices need to come down, this in spite of the entreaties of President Bush and numerous other countries and agencies. Clearly when paper barrels are bid to the sky and wet barrels go begging there is a manifest irrationality lurking in the oil trading pits. It is bad enough to have the oil executive royalty spouting the nonsense "the price of their product is determined by supply and demand" before an assembled Congressional hearing, but it becomes particularly grating hearing it from our government officials or perhaps better described as oil patch lackeys the likes of Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, Acting Chairman of the CFTC Walter Lukken, and now Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson who one would have hoped would have known enough to know better."
Uh-oh... I can almost see that 100 BILLION in extra profits this year going, going...
Gee, seems both parties see the people have had enough. (At least until election time.) A new day, she be a-comin'.
๐
Tom Anderson
2005 GeorgieBoy 35
