Enron, Oil Futures, Banking, Cattle Rustling, and the like

The self-correcting free market is a myth, a big ugly lie perpetrated so shadowy business leaders can get richer. It doesn't self-correct, it just grows wilder and less stable with every passing day. Commodities speculation, predatory lending, etc - the difference between all that and cattle rustling is simple: we aren't allowed to hang bankers and brokers... not yet, anyway.

If I were in that sector, watching all this shit go down, seeing the public learn the truth about speculation on gas, real estate, electricity, mortgages, etc... I'd be pretty damn scared about what the backlash was gonna be when the dam (made of camel's backs) finally breaks. If I were them, I'd be begging the government for vastly tighter regulation, in hopes of creating the image that the Futures industry was now cleaning itself up. If I were the RNC, I'd be changing my official tune to favor "Big Government" and oversight so as to distance myself from the dirty bastards who are gonna face pitchforks and torches sooner or later. I'd be sacrificing scapegoats left and right till the angry mob abates, then quietly pulling out and retiring.

The following 60 Minutes clip was brought to my attention by Brad, and it does a good job of explaining many of the hidden pressures behind the last two years of gas prices.

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