The Volt is still a bit underdeveloped, butbits a step in the right direction. An all electric is impractical for many people, but a Fit is also impractical for many people.

At the same time, there are many areas where electric vehicles have already made inroads. For example, runabouts on military bases. We use GEM cars for running errands around the base. There are no streets on my base that have a speed limit above 25 mph. A GEM car can be parked anywhere, and when not in use, can be left plugged in by the side of the building. Unlike a golf-car, it gas seatbelts, full instrumentation, wipers, signals, etc.

 

Have you done much speculation?
,
Speculators lose out exactly as much as they win out. It's a zero sum game. For every speculator who makes X dollars in a trade, there is another speculator who loses that X dollars in that trade.

I speculate. Heavily. I've made a lot. I've lost a lot. It's like gambling, to be sure, but the difference is we can all see the deck - we just have different opinions as to how the cards are going to be played.

 

And we pay the price of oil because....

 

Because it's a commodity that everybody wants and can't live their current lifestyles without. <p><p>

Sure, speculation can cause price inflation of any item. Remember beanie babies? They were 2 dollar bean things before the speculation took off, and they were 2 dollar bean things at their peak. <p><p>

But it came back down. Speculation always has a temporary effect on markets. Just like the housing bubble, the dot com bubble, the tulip bubble, South Sea bubble. <p><p>

It's always the same. Speculation drives up price above fundamentals, a bubble is created, the bubble pops, speculators who went long too long get screwed. <p><p>

Sir Isaac Newton - easily one of the smartest men to live - lost most of his fortune in the South Sea speculative bubble. <p><p>

But the current political tactic of yelling either "drill more" or "speculators" or "OPEC" to explain persistent and damaging high oil prices are just more of the usual Washington lies that are told to keep you unfocused. Oil production has been flat for 5 years. Price is high because demand has gone up while production has been flat. Sure, some part of 100 dollar oil may be speculation - but the direction of oil price, long term, is easy to see.

 

yah, i dont remember my last fillup on the Fit was any cheaper than the previous month...

 

Commodity trading has a long history, however, "The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA) allowed energy commodities for the first time to be traded on deregulated "exempt commercial markets," meaning exchanges exempt from CFTC or any other U.S. government oversight. This law was a departure from the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, which had confined commodities trading to CFTC-regulated exchanges" June 9, 2008, 12:01AM EST, BW

Then today:ģ Oil Trade and Hedge Fund Fines Hit $200 Million in 2010 ģ Hedge Fund News From HedgeCo.Net Hedge Fund News

Wrists are getting slapped, but has anything really changed?

I'm not a speculator nor, for the most part, an investor. I try my best to understand the roller coaster our economy is on. Hang on and ride it out was always the mantra. Today there's a new paradigm and I fear it's out of control.

Our government is, right now, toying with default.
Look at what's happened in the EU.
Some how we've got to leave the 'butter and eggs' alone.

Carrots and sticks - Smoke and mirrors

But who always comes out on the top?

K_C_

 

I'd have to say I'm like-minded. This is beyond any control that could be exerted as long as there is rule by the greedy or rule by the masses. Default, seems to me, to be ongoing. The dollar is weakening rapidly. The 10 or so trillion in debt is all denominated in dollars. As the Fed prints more money, the value of that debt is reduced - a default by a different name. I don't give the dollar 10 years. The EU is on the verge of collapse. Belarus just intentionally devalued their own currency by almost 50% and their country is close to chaos.