Wall Street Speculation Added 83 cents per Gallon of Gas.

While the Republicans blame Obama for high gas prices, an outrageous and over the top accusation, the real culprits were the Wall Street speculators.

The drain on our wallets didn't have to happen! Republicans held up Dodd-Frank, a law that would have regulated commodity speculation. Was this intentional? Will their own party hold them accountable for allowing big oil to drain our wallets and limit or cancel our summer vacations? Nah.

A new University of Massachusetts, Amherst study has determined speculation added 83 cents per gallon.



From January 16, Think Progress' Lee Fang wrote this about Koch Industries ties to speculation that lined their pockets:

The Koch Industries front group Americans for Prosperity is preparing a tour across America “aimed at trying to put the blame for high gas prices on the Obama administration.” The tour will demand that Obama increase domestic drilling — even though domestic oil production is at an all time high and further drilling will do nothing to affect prices.

Koch’s relaunch of Drill Baby Drill appears to be a crass attempt to distract Americans from a true driver of high prices: oil speculation, coming from companies like Koch. In fact, a new Think Progress investigation of Koch’s oil speculation business reveals that Koch is perhaps the most important player in distorting oil markets for private profit. Our report highlights:

– Koch’s role in inventing modern oil derivatives.– Koch’s alliance with Enron and the Gramm family in deregulating oil speculation, first in the early ’90s then again ten years later.– Koch’s participation in unregulated exchanges, and the ways in which it uses its political power to allow excessive oil speculation to continue.

Experts contacted by ThinkProgress pin the blame for sky-high prices and record volatility on excessive oil speculation, the oil market corrupted by unregulated Wall Street traders who buy and hold onto oil futures contracts with no interest in the actual delivery of oil. Koch Industries — generally known as an oil pipelines and refining company — is also on the forefront of speculating on oil for profit.