They say that if you live long enough you’ll see everything. Well, I’m only 36 years old and frankly, my friends, I believe I’ve seen, or better yet, heard it all. Recently on the way to work I was listening to Boomer and Carton, the replacement players for this old-time geezer who was fired for making racial comments about the Rutgers female basketball team earlier this year. As “the new kids on the block” went to commercial, a spot came on demanding that listeners sign a petition to close “the Enron loophole”. Signing the position, the voice said, will cause Congress to require hedge fund managers and other speculators to provide daily transparency of their positions. Doing so, according to the voice, will keep the markets from being manipulated by these men and women, who are taking advantage of the little guy by driving the costs of oil and other commodities through the roof.
In short, once again hedge funds are being blamed for everything that is wrong with America and the markets. And the only way to fix the evils that these people do is to get Congress involved. Transparency in this situation, I guess, will cure these and other issues that are causing problems across the country.
These people have gone off the deep end. This is insanity at its finest. The commercial you see is backed by – read paid for – oil and gas companies of New Jersey and others around the country. That right, you read it correctly, the oil and gas companies who have earned record profits over the last few years as energy prices have soared are spending millions to try to close the free market.
It shows you what is truly wrong with America today. These energy companies are not looking out for my, yours or anyone else’s best interest. They’re looking out for their own best interest and don’t give a damn about anything else. These people are preying on the fear that the press has created around hedge funds and taking advantage of people based on their lack of knowledge of the markets, economics and even their own energy industry. If this is not a fraud, I don’t know what it is. The moral of this story is that when you listen to Boomer and Carton, turn that radio down during the commercial breaks, because what you are bound to hear is a bunch of nonsense and frankly, you’re all too smart for it.
That being said, this is the final post of the 2007 year. As we enter into the season of giving, peace and all that other good stuff, I have one wish for all of you: that 2008 be a year of health, happiness and prosperity for you and your families. Thank you for your continued support of this blog and our hedgeanswers endeavors. Look for the next post about January 5, 2008.
Happy New Year!
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