Bernie Sanders Socialist Senator from Vermont, has released the names and positions of speculators in the oil market, in the hope that the public outcry will do...something. It's not illegal to speculate in the oil market. But Bernie Sanders, dimwitted nutjob that he is, believes it should be, and a substantial portion of the illiterate public agree with him. So I suppose he imagines people publicly ostracizing those evil bastards who had the traitorous temerity to speculate on rising prices of oil. Maybe there will even be a riot or two - maybe someone will get killed. won't that be great?!
I don't know for certain that my name isn't on his list. It's certainly possible, although given my relatively small size I doubt it. But again it's absolutely possible. I won't hesitate to be a speculator in the oil market when I feel it suits me. And if you asked me so, I'd happily have told you myself. Being economically literate, I know that speculators don't have any long term effect on pricing. So I don't feel like I have anything to hide on that score - whatever A-Hole Bernie Sanders thinks.
But I think it's important that we recognize what this piece of Socialist excrement has done. He's used his position as a US Senator to obtain private commercial data, and then released it to the press for publication, at his own discretion absent any legislation authorizing him to do so. He's fighting a private war on capitalism, and in the process, he's materially harmed the future business prospects of the institution that was forced to release the data to him, and bolstered the competitive positions of the 12 gazillion other places that you can speculate on oil without having to answer to an idiot like him. Ice or Nymex or CME group or whoever it was that was forced to hand the data over to him must be livid.
Rule of law is an important part of capitalism. And wholly unauthorized action like this weakens it significantly. Bernie Sanders doesn't think we should be ruled by laws, he thinks we should be ruled by men... him specifically. He has a personal problem with speculation, and doesn't care that there isn't any law against it.
So now if you want to speculate in the oil market, on top of all the other risks, you have to add in the risk that Bernie Sanders will take it upon himself, to make your positions public. This may be important to you or it may not. But if it is, you had better find somewhere else to trade where you don't have to worry about the exchange handing the data over to Bernie.
To me this seems an outright abuse of his authority, and frankly I think he should be thrown in jail for it. Contracts are supposed to matter, and shouldn't be subject to the extra-legal whims of socialist Senators from Vermont, or anyone else for that matter.
1 comment:
Here is something nice to think about - A civil suit for invasion of privacy, RICO violations, etc., a judgment for big losses on a position of somebody with balls enough to sue him, and a piercing of the corporate veil resulting in a successful levy on his campaign war chest. That would send a nice message to the political class.
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