Sanders: Oil Speculators Must Cease Price Manipulation

By Lisa Kellman

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is urging federal regulators to takes measures that would prevent oil speculators from artificially inflating prices.

“The bottom line is that we have a responsibility to ensure that the price of oil is no longer allowed to be driven up by the same Wall Street speculators who caused the devastating recession that working families are now experiencing,” Sanders, who sent a letter Monday, said in a statement.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is slated to consider a ruling Monday on a similar measure that Sanders says falls short of what Congress envisioned with last year’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.

Sanders noted that stronger regulations carry additional weight in light of the coming cold months, when families will need oil for heating.

He referenced a study from Better Markets, a nonpartisan organization that supports regulating speculative trading, which showed that speculation increases commodity prices independent of the law of supply and demand.

Sanders Slams Debt Panel's Social Security Proposals

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made it clear on Wednesday that he sees problems with a report put out by the leaders of President Barack Obama’s fiscal commission that recommends, among other things, tweaking America’s Social Security program to help bring down the nation’s nearly $14 trillion debt.

“The Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan is extremely disappointing and something that should be vigorously opposed by the American people,” Sanders said in a statement. “The huge increase in the national debt in recent years was caused by two unpaid wars, tax breaks for the wealthy, a Medicare prescription drug bill written by the pharmaceutical industry, and the Wall Street bailout. Unlike Social Security, none of these proposals were paid for.”

In their report, the panel’s co-chairmen — Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson — suggest raising the minimum age of those who qualify for Social Security benefits to 69 by the year 2075. Sanders responded lividly to that idea.

“It is reprehensible to ask working people, including many who do physically-demanding labor, to work until they are 69 years of age…As they compete for jobs with 25-year-olds, many older workers will go unemployed and have virtually no income.”

“Frankly, there will not be too much demand within the construction industry for 69-year-old bricklayers,” he added.

Sanders argued that the future solvency of Social Security should be paid for solely by raising the cap on the amount of income subject to payroll taxes, a proposal that actually is included in the report.

Sanders Welcomes Warren To Consumer Protection Bureau

Sources are reporting today that President Barack Obama will soon name Elizabeth Warren as a special adviser to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Warren, who currently chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel, which has monitored the TARP program, will not need to be confirmed by the Senate.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) applauded the decision to appoint Warren to the agency.

“At a time when the working families of this country are profoundly disgusted by the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior of Wall Street, I applaud President Obama for appointing a tough and brilliant advocate to head the new Financial Consumer Protection Bureau.  The American people are tired of being ripped off by large banks and financial institutions and, in Professor Warren, they finally will have someone in a position of power who can protect their interests.”