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Do you buy stock everyday? You buy into the commodities markets everyday you wake up. That toast is from wheat traded on various exchanges including The Chicago Board of Trade. That bacon is from “lean hogs” which are traded at The Chicago Board of Trade. FCOJ stands for frozen concentrated orange juice; that glass of juice you’re drinking was traded on the New York Board of Trade.
After you’ve had breakfast, it’s time to go to work. Better stop and get some gas; that’s traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange. What will you have for lunch? How about a Big Mac. That burger is from a cow that was traded at the CBOT. In order to become a cow, he had to eat corn that was traded at the CBOT.
Fried chicken sounds good for dinner. In order to become a chicken, he had to eat corn and soybeans that were traded at the CBOT. After dinner it’s time for some relaxation. Will it be TV, music, or log in on the computer; all of those items are loaded with copper that was traded on COMEX in New York.
So you see, everyday of your life is involved with the commodities markets. The reason you didn’t know this, is for the same reason you might not know how the thermostat keeps your home at the right temperature. Since it’s worked for as long as you can remember, who cares. As a matter of fact, you hardly know it’s there. The CFTC is the “thermostat” for the commodities markets. CFTC stands for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It has worked like a fine Swiss watch for so many years that nobody even knows of it’s existence or what it does. They regulated commodity traders and trades in order to prevent “commodity market manipulation”. How many times have you heard Republicans say that we had too much “regulation”. That regulation was the only thing that prevented them from exploiting us.
Do you remember when you went to fill up and saw that incredible price on the pump. From that day to this day, our standard of living has gone down, while the 1% standard of living has gone up. Charts on this website http://wp.me/p2vRlu-4
are a record of how much you paid for gasoline, and when you paid it. No one in the history of this country had ever paid that much for gasoline.
Everyone is talking about the drought, and the high prices you will have to pay for food as a result of the high grain prices. You have already been paying high prices for food as a result of the high grain prices, but nobody told you. If it’s not on TV, it didn’t happen. When you go to this website http://wp.me/p2vRlu-4 and click on “corn or soybeans”, you will discover that you paid “drought prices” for food in 08, and 2011 when there was no drought.
Now that we have a severe drought upon us, these even higher prices for food will reduce our standard of living lower than it’s ever been in many peoples lifetime. Each generation has always done better than the generation before it, up until now.
Those young “Occupy” people never had a chance; once Wall Street got involved in the commodity market manipulation, that was the end of this economy as we knew it. The depression seems to be going better than planned.
6 Comments
Thank you, lakota.
A most-thoughtful, and very important diary … bringing “it” home … to each and every one of us.
Recommended to all who share the “lake”, the ocean of life … on this planet.
DW
I thank you for your thoughtful and perceptive post.
“We”, the multitudes are being ripped off by corrupt politicians who have taken over the most important agency there is in regard to our economic protection, the CFTC.
Post’s like yours give me the inspiration I need to educate the masses who are being ripped off.
Well, lokata, the inspiration is quite mutual, I assure you.
Your presence at FDL is much appreciated.
Through your comments and diaries, you have established yourself as one of those whom I regard as a “heavy hitter”.
That means that you fearlessly tackle the issues which matter, some of which are so “obvious” that they become almost invisible … and that is precisely what you are making clear, in all of its obviousness, the deliberate manipulation of the “cost” of those things deemed necessary, (some of which ARE) to life.
Those manipulations do not reflect true costs nor do they reward, at all reasonably or justly, those whose efforts produce or make available these “commodities”, nor do these manipulations protect the earth, life, or the future.
Those engaged in the “manipulation” are, simply, leeches, who do not, themselves produce or preserve ANYTHING, they are parasites on the political economy and destructive to the human family. Indeed, this “class” of parasite seeks to commodify everything, human beings, life, and the all of the functions of being.
On with ye then, lakota.
My only request of you is … more … please.
DW
The way I have this broken down, a person doesn’t have to know squat about commodities in order to understand and verify the fact that we have been “exploited”.
These are 25 year charts; when you examine them, you will discover that the prices they represent, never went anywhere near this high before the Bush Administration. They never went anywhere near this high in all of record keeping history. Why would the price of all of these commodities “explode” during the second term of the Bush Administration. Even if a person were no smarter than “Jethro Bodine” from the “Beverly Hillbillies”, he would recognize that something was wrong with this picture.
If the “market manipulators” are not exposed before the election, we will be exploited forever.
DWBartoo, anyone who can get away with robbing the multitudes, and suffer 0 consequences; will continue forever.
Yes.
To everything that you say.
Both the market manipulators AND the political class which enables them must be exposed …
Frankly, and I do not say this to depress you, lakota, for I have been actively engaged in this “process” since 1962 … Many of our fellow citizens will not come to grasp what you are saying before this election, and it will take time, possibly years, before they do … so, you must be prepared and willing to keep on, for the rest of your life, as long as you are able, speaking, patiently, honestly, and courageously to people, to human beings, where ever you may find them, using whatever means as are available to you.
Do not allow arbitrary dates, Cinderella Hours, I term them, to be ANY measure, of or about, the success of your efforts … merely know that what you are doing is needful, necessary, and appreciated.
We are in this struggle, for the very … long haul.
You will continue to gain credibility, appreciation, AND trust … which are the only meaningful “currencies” in what we are about.
I do not know how old you are, lokota, however, I am quite old enough to suggest that none of us are young “enough” to squander either time, goodwill, or trust …
DW
Your charts and your website, btw, are stellar … and your website is bookmarked among my favorites.
Just so you know.
DW