Page 4 - Position Limits News Today

I mean if the american people cant grab that and the severity of this i dont know what its going to take. now do you think that gas prices would fall as soon as position limits are put into place? >> i think gas prices would fall if position limits were put into place but frankly the president has the power of the bully pulpit here. if he calls out these big banks who haíe!already taken so much from the american people in the bailouts in the great interest rates, low interest rates they have to...

Where the president was on position limits. he said he didnt. where do you stand on position limits? where should the president stand on position limits? >> i think the presidents moving in the right direction on this. i think that he wants to put somebody strong to replace dunn on the commission. i think hes empowered gents ler of the cftc to be aggressive. i know hes fighting for the budget as we are to make sure once the rules are in place, that the budget is enough, that they can go after --...

Limits? where should the president stand on position limits? >> i think the presidents moving in the right direction on this. i think that he wants to put somebody strong to replace dunn on the commission. i think hes empowered gents ler of the cftc to be aggressive. i know hes fighting for the budget as we are to make sure once the rules are in place, that the budget is enough, that they can go after -- you know, bring them out of the dark, these speculators, and make sure that they in fact can...

Are not fully done yet. the rules arent fully promulgated yet. the republicans are trying to block that. once we get those rules in place and with people -- you know, they go after the elizabeth warrens and people like this that want to enforce the rules, want to protect consumers. the republicans goals is to stop them from serving in government. if you cant stop them from serving, you take away -- you blunt their rules, the tools they have. and if you cant do that, you cut their funding. weve g...

3.56 is the average price per gallon now. is this just the worst is yet to come? >> well, prices look like they are going to increase. again, thomas, we arent price setters. our job is to ensure that the markets are free, fair and they operate efficiently and effectively. thats what im concerned about now, that we have appropriate limit sos somebody with a large footprint in the markets, a huge position. 15, 20% of a market cant contort prices and push them up. as i say, i think speculators are ...

Right back there again, and we need these position limits in place and we need them soon. >> does president obama believe what you just said, that we need position limits and we need them soon? >> i cant speak for the president. but everything that he has said indicates to me that he is a strong supporter of putting appropriate side boards like position limits on these markets. to ensure that wall street or lasalle street dont push the price of products up beyond what they should be. governments...

Mccain supported position limits. you even had bill oreilly and dennis kucinich the other day. youve got the entire spectrum. this shouldnt be a partisan issue. the president did fight for positions in the new law. thats the wall street reform act. they said put these limits in place this january. two months ago. we still havent done it. i wish we do, and we should do it as soon as possible. the administrations been very good. but all too often in washington theres amnesia. and people forget tha...

Demand. so when you say why are prices rising, it gives credence to the issue that speculators may be a having a big influence. were looking at it. but if you go back to 2008, where we also had large supply, limited demand, ed, we saw prices of gas, as you reported, go over $4 a gallon. oil was at $147.27. theres no other reason that i can see, no one can explain why prices were that high. but we did have $200 billion of speculative interests come into the markets over a several-year period. and...

Kills tourism, by car and by air. it adds a premium to the cost of every single thing you buy that gets shipped by truck or by plane. youre going to feel it. if gas prices their 22-day rise, it wont be long before $4 or even $5 a gallon gas torpedoes the countrys what some people call the weak economic recovery. in our special series this week, weve talked about the small businesses, and even some big ones that are clamoring for the government to tighten position limits, the caps that are suppos...

He campaigned on the fact that the speculators had to be reeled in, yet we dont see the white house taking a very strong position in that regard. what do you make of it? >> well, as youve reported, this has been historically a bipartisan issue. then candidate and senator mccain supported position limits. you even had bill oreilly and dennis kucinich the other day. youve got the entire spectrum. this shouldnt be a partisan issue. the president did fight for positions in the new law. thats the wal...