A call to outlaw private energy trading

The business of energy trading is one currently being ambushed by the private sector, where speculators have manipulated the natural balance between supply and demand. It is what capitalism has evolved to in recent years due to the vast consolidation of wealth among the ruling elite, and the reason that certain sectors of the economy need to be taken out of the for profit private sector. The cost of energy forms the very basis of our economic underpinnings, fueling the production and cost of production our nation realizes profit off of. Since everything begins with energy, it is inexcusable to allow this market to be manipulated by the wealthy.

So how exactly is the oil market driven, and what factors ultimately influence the price of gasoline? Well the answer used to be supply and demand, but that was before the days when investment firms thought about storing oil. The strategy currently in place which has catalyzed the upward drive of American gas prices to the benefit of these wealthy investors has been to buy the oil and put it into storage in large tanks to sell it later at a higher price than it was bought, never having to process the crude oil in order to earn a profit. Thus oil is traded much like a stock, except their truly is no reason that oil prices ever will come down. Think about it, just by purchasing the oil and keeping it out of the hands of the public, the supply is artificially driven down. Demand is guaranteed to increase for the foreseeable future by the very nature of human dependence coupled with a growing human population, so there is nothing to hold this market in check. It's nothing short of racketeering, save for the fact it's a legal practice in American capitalism.

The whole process is one giant manipulation which favors those with large amounts of capital to invest at the expense of the rest, and there's absolutely nothing positive gained by society in the process, only harm caused, unless you happen to be the wealthy investor that is. Energy speculators amount to nothing more than intrusive middlemen, who get a seat at the ballgame simply because they can afford one. This is the free market as it has become in this society, and there is no reason the masses should have to pick up the tab for a system that disfavors them. Capitalism is supposed to be a problem solving economic system, one that works towards solutions, but clearly here and in other sectors that should be non-profit governmental entities, it is the cause of problems, further burdening the working class with a direct impact on a higher national cost of living as fuel prices rise. This country needs to outlaw such practices and assure that capitalism truly rewards those making a contribution, not those looking for a free lunch!