Speculators knock OPEC off oil-price perch (Photo credit: Barrybar)
The reason that oil prices are high
Has nothing to do with demand and supply
The supply of oil has never been greater
And demand is now lower – so what’s the cause? – oil traders
Down there on Wall Street who’re all greedy fucks
Whose sole interest lies in piling up bucks
Who through speculation are rigging oil prices
Keeping it high for their own devices
They are not end users, they don’t truck long hauls
They don’t ship our food, don’t wear overalls
They don’t work in heating, or anything like it
Their sole deal is oil price, and how to hike it
And all these GOP morons saying “drill baby drill”
Work for the oilmen who pay them to shill
These whores in our congress whose sole aim and reason
Is keeping their seats by lies and appeasin’
Their plutocrat masters who finance each run
As long as they pledge oil’s will shall be done
So they’re secretly thrilled the oil price is high
Their bosses wanna drill- so fuck you and I
While their partners on Wall Street keep priming the pump
And their whores in D.C. jump when they’re told to jump
And it’s just one big party, more wine, caviar, crab
Why not? You and I will pick up the tab.
© tony powers and Barking in the Dark, 2012.Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to tony powers and Barking in the Dark with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Barking In The Dark 
Well stated, indeed. The way I see it: separation of church and state + separation of business and state = stepping in the right direction…
🙂
janet
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Posted by BuddhaKat | March 7, 2012, 1:42 amthanks Janet, ur right. i appreciate the comment. continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | March 9, 2012, 12:31 amTony,
Oil traders profit from rising oil prices, but is it really fair to single them out? What’s different about speculating in oil than any other speculation? Apple shares have increased by nearly 70% in less than nine months, increasing the share value to the company by about $200 billion – that’s right, $200 billion. There’s little doubt that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of individual Apple shareholders have each made more than $1,000,000 in paper profits during that time. (By way of disclosure, I have owned no Apple shares during that period.) Are we outraged that Apple profits mightily from near slave labor-like working conditions in its Chinese factories?
The real question is why oil prices have spiked; but I don’t think the intrinsic value of oil can be blamed on the oil speculators. Rather, the winds of war are again blowing strong in the homeland. Netanyahu and the Israel lobby (APAC) have joined forces with the radical right of the Republican Party to ratchet up the rhetoric dramatically, stoking fears of an existential threat from “the bomb.” That’s all it took for Bush and Cheney to dupe the citizenry to go to war against Iraq.
The oil traders merely recognize the potential catastrophic risk that a U.S. – Israeli strike on Iran would pose to oil prices by disrupting a significant portion of world oil supply. The straits of Hormuz are, according to experts, not all that hard to close. Thus, the traders eagerly bid up the price of the commodity.
Also, if the oil traders were powerful enough to manipulate effect oil prices (like Wizards of Oz), what explains the fact that natural gas traders have seen those prices drop to the lowest levels in recent years?
I think we should focus our anger against the politicians and right-wing media who provide the traders with the ammunition to send prices higher by threatening war. This axis of the ignorant, the prejudiced and the war mongers, is unconcerned about the trillion dollar cost to U.S. taxpayers of yet another military fiasco halfway across the globe, to say nothing of the blood of our soldiers and the war victims. While Fox and the rest of the lame stream media orchestrate the drumbeats of war, and our political leaders follow their dreams of guts and glory in favor of another war against the infidels, the oil traders sit in front of their computers and pocket the profits – as do Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, et al., which can each earn another $10 to $20 per barrel in profits from their oil sales.
“Dear Brutus, the fault lies not in the stars, but in ourselves.”
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Posted by Caruso K9 | March 5, 2012, 11:53 pmJonathan, always good to hear from you, okay – all points well made, taken, and agreed with (in fact just finished next post on Netanyahu and Iran drumbeat) anyway, in your own words “The oil traders merely recognize the potential catastrophic risk that a U.S. – Israeli strike on Iran would pose to oil prices by disrupting a significant portion of world oil supply. The straits of Hormuz are, according to experts, not all that hard to close. Thus, the traders eagerly bid up the price of the commodity.” i said the same thing basically, but in shorthand. and yes, i do think they can, and have, manipulated the price of oil as you say in your last sentence “the oil traders sit in front of their computers and pocket the profits – as do Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, et al., which can each earn another $10 to $20 per barrel in profits from their oil sales.” i agree that China is to be castigated by the world community for their crimes which border on, or are, slave labor. anyway, the AIPAC/GOP/Netanyahu/Iran piece which i wanted to keep separate from this one posts tonite. stay tuned. thanks for this intelligent, well thought out comment. continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | March 6, 2012, 5:48 amI was listening to NPR discussion earlier about this very thing…. I would be much more upset, but currently I’m quite amused watching Rush loosing one after another sponsorship !
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Posted by MJ, Nonstepmom | March 5, 2012, 11:44 pmJanet, i completely understand. thanks for the comment. continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | March 6, 2012, 6:05 amThey probably don’t fill up their own cars, afraid they’ll get their hands dirty. When I was driving a truck, I had to fill both tanks when needed with diesel fuel, and its not pleasant smelling, but you do get use to it, plus had to do it in bad snowstorms, poring buckets of rain, and back then, early 2000 to mid 2000s, the shit wasn’t cheap either. Anyways, these fuckers on Wall St., don’t give a rat’s ass about the rising price of gas & diesel, as for the companies that have to pay for the fuel or gas, they slap on surcharges, and in the meantime, everything gets passed on to the consumer, who ends up getting fucked over more and more every day. Tony, when the fuck is this bullshit going to come to a stop? I know you don’t have the answer, and neither do I, but something has to be done…
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Posted by Don in Massachusetts | March 5, 2012, 11:39 pmDon, we have to get the money out of politics. job #1. thanks for the comment man. continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | March 6, 2012, 6:37 amSad but true. Oil is a form of money. Money buys power and influence. Power and influence attracts the corrupted evil souls.
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Posted by Tom | March 5, 2012, 7:50 pmthe neck bone’s connected to the back bone, the back bone’s connected to etc. etc. thanks for the comment Tom. continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | March 6, 2012, 6:10 amPerfect! Once again… perfect. I especially love the closing lines. Phenomenal Tony… thank you! Oh, and one thing I noticed is that the gas prices started increasing about a week after Obama denied the Keystone XL. I have to wonder if there is a temper tantrum going on here, too.
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Posted by She speaks.... | March 5, 2012, 2:39 pmMichelle, i wouldn’t be surprised…but i hope Obama will not be sucked into another “oil war” with Iran (see my new post.) thanks as always. continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | March 6, 2012, 6:08 amWell done.
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Posted by jotsfromasmallapt | March 5, 2012, 2:13 pmthank you jots. i appreciate it. continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | March 6, 2012, 6:10 am