So you're a free market guy who wants more regulation of speculators in the commodities market and more tax dollars used for investment in research through government agencies? You say tomato I say tomato, so lets move on and address something new, like your "solutions."

Republicans in both chambers of Congress have stopped anti-speculation bills so far, and the President has threatened to veto them: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...073002088.html

Instead they want increased drilling which Bush's own Depart of Energy says will do absolutely nothing: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/ongr.html
"The projections in the OCS access case indicate that access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030."

http://www.time.com/time/business/ar...815884,00.html
"Even if tomorrow we opened up every square mile of the outer continental shelf to offshore rigs, even if we drilled the entire state of Alaska and pulled new refineries out of thin air, the impact on gas prices would be minimal and delayed at best. The reason is simple: the U.S. has an estimated 3% of global petroleum reserves but consumes 24% of the world's oil. Offshore territories and public lands like ANWR that don't allow drilling may contain up to 75 billion barrels of oil, according to the EIA. That may sound like a lot, but it's not enough to make a significant difference in a world where global oil demand is expected to rise 30% by 2030, to nearly 120 million barrels a day. At best, greatly expanding domestic drilling might eventually lower the proportion of oil the U.S. imports — currently about 60% of its total supply — but petroleum is a global commodity, and the world market would soak up any additional American production."