When the Bush Administration set us up for runaway gas prices

Everyone wants a quick solution to the sky-high price of gas. But to keep in perspective just how long it might take to implement a solution, keep in mind that the plan to gouge the US economy took 7 years to hatch. It began as one of the earliest big actions of the Bush Administration. In 2000, they fundamentally changed the way oil is bought and sold so that insiders would be set up to name their prices without any regard to the market forces of supply-and-demand or regulation/oversight by the US government.

Remember, the closed-door meetings to determine US energy policy, headed by Dick Cheney, was tasked with making money for cronies, not to serve the citizens of the US. Back in 2000, this included the “Enron loophole” for oil future trading and siezing the oil fields of Iraq and Iran. From their perspective, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad, and they’ve still got half a year left.

money.cnn.com/2008/06/03/news/economy/energy_manipulation_hearing/index.htm

The (Enron) loophole, which was codified in the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, allows oil futures to be traded electronically in unregulated markets outside of the jurisdiction of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

"Americans may be surprised to learn that the oil futures markets were substantially deregulated by the CFTC staff decisions that were made behind closed doors" said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. "Now this London and Dubai loophole is keeping important U.S. energy trading in the dark and without proper light ... it can give manipulators free rein in energy markets."

Michael Greenburger, a University of Maryland professor and former CFTC official, said Congress should return the language of the original bill "this afternoon," saying that overnight it would bring the price of crude oil down by 25%.