Let's also consider the demonized Wall Street speculators. Those speculators don't care about where prices move. They just want to “bet long” when prices rise and “bet short” when prices fall. The benefit of speculators is something we should have learned in Economics 101. Markets are efficient when there are many buyers, many sellers and easy entrance into the market. Speculators keep the market efficient. You can become a speculatory for dramatically less capital than it takes to start-up an oil & gas company. That's easy entrance into the market. If you remove speculators from the market, you reduce market efficiency and increase the market power of the remaining players — oil and gas companies.

Consider also a capitalist that would like to create jobs and develop an alternative energy product or technology. As he studies the market and his development costs, he should determine that his new technolgy can succeed so long as oil is at least “X” per barrel, but if oil falls below “X” he'll go broke and his effort to develop alternative energy will fail. The economic success of his new venture can be insured if he uses the futures market (trades with the evil speculators) for protection against a maket below “X” per barrel. Otherwise development of new technology is just a gamble.

Consider the evil oil company CEOs. I'd like to see one of these guys tell congress that when oil goes to $135 per barrel, he'd have to work very hard to prevent his company from making record profits. Then, if he actually did work to restrain his company's profits, he wouldn't be testifying before congress. The FTC would lead him out in handcuffs, and he'd be testifying at his own criminal trial.

1. it sends signals to markets
2. it brings in money to gov't. even before drilling by lease sale
3. it brings more money to gov't after lease sale if oil or gas are produced through royalties and severance taxes.
4. every gallon produced domestically is one not imported which reduces our foreign trade deficit of which oil is greatest part
5. it creates American jobs reducing unemployment taxes we pay

All of the above help my price of government immediately

Let’s also consider the demonized Wall Street speculators. Those speculators don’t care about where prices move. They just want to “bet long” when prices rise and “bet short” when prices fall. The benefit of speculators is something we should have learned in Economics 101. Markets are efficient when there are many buyers, many sellers and easy entrance into the market. Speculators keep the market efficient. You can become a speculatory for dramatically less capital than it takes to start-up an oil & gas company. That’s easy entrance into the market. If you remove speculators from the market, you reduce market efficiency and increase the market power of the remaining players — oil and gas companies.

Consider also a capitalist that would like to create jobs and develop an alternative energy product or technology. As he studies the market and his development costs, he should determine that his new technolgy can succeed so long as oil is at least “X” per barrel, but if oil falls below “X” he’ll go broke and his effort to develop alternative energy will fail. The economic success of his new venture can be insured if he uses the futures market (trades with the evil speculators) for protection against a maket below “X” per barrel. Otherwise development of new technology is just a gamble.

Consider the evil oil company CEOs. I’d like to see one of these guys tell congress that when oil goes to $135 per barrel, he’d have to work very hard to prevent his company from making record profits. Then, if he actually did work to restrain his company’s profits, he wouldn’t be testifying before congress. The FTC would lead him out in handcuffs, and he’d be testifying at his own criminal trial.

1. it sends signals to markets
2. it brings in money to gov’t. even before drilling by lease sale
3. it brings more money to gov’t after lease sale if oil or gas are produced through royalties and severance taxes.
4. every gallon produced domestically is one not imported which reduces our foreign trade deficit of which oil is greatest part
5. it creates American jobs reducing unemployment taxes we pay

All of the above help my price of government immediately