The field of economics has come a long way since Adam Smith wrote "The Wealth of Nations". It is the interplay of OPEC and speculation in the commodities market that have brought us to $4.00 per gallon gasoline. If you are proposing a more of the same approach...perhaps we can look forward to the same $9.00 to $10.00 per gallon paid in some European nations.

It is true that much of the speculation occurs outside of the U. S.  England has been reputed to be notoriously lax in regulating its commodities market. However, we have a global economy, and trends in one market seem to be followed in others. A down trend in the New York market often seems to be reflected in London and Japan. Oil is priced in American dollars, and the weakness of the dollar contributes to the high price of oil. These other markets also watch with interest as the Federal Reserve raises or lowers interest rates here in the U.S. Although not legally binding upon foreign economies, these matters still influence the trading index of each of these markets at the close of business each day.  A development in one market impacts on the others as well.

While the proposed legislation would not be legally binding outside the U.S any more than our other SEC regulations . Its effect within the U.S. may impact ecomically in the other markets. They still have to do business with the U.S. Is there any certainty of success for this legislation...who knows? However, I think I would like to give a try. The current system is not working.

Even with the proposed legislation the price of oil would still be set by the market . It would simply have an added regulatory feature to it.