MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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Independent Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders joins us tonight. Senator, good to have you with us. Again, you`re doing great work.

Give us the numbers, senator. How much of a problem is speculation? And if your bill were to get through and signed, what would it do to the price?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Well, this is what we do know, Ed: there is now more supply available in America today than there was three years ago, when the price of gas was a buck 90 a gallon.

There`s less demand now than there was at any time since 1997. So we`re not looking at a supply and demand problem. What we also know is that over 80 percent -- repeat, over 80 percent of the oil futures market is not controlled by people who actually use the oil, airlines, et cetera, but by Wall Street speculators, like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley.

SCHULTZ: Who are trying to make a dollar.

SANDERS: Whose only goal in life in terms of being on the oil futures market is to make as much money as they possibly can. Now, there have been differing estimates as to how much would be saved if we ended the excessive speculation that we have got to end.

But this is interesting. Goldman Sachs, itself -- and Goldman Sachs may be the major speculator on the oil futures market. They have estimates that the price of a gallon of gas would go down by 56 cents. Other suggests that the number might be -- that the number might go down even lower.

SCHULTZ: And senator, you heard those sound bites from those three Republican candidates. Are they lying?

SANDERS: Yeah, they are. The truth is, as the president indicated, we are doing a lot of oil drilling right now. But I think at the root of the problem, is not the supply issue. I think the root of the problem is that our friends on Wall Street, who caused this recession through their
greed, are at it again, and by manipulating the oil futures market, they`re driving up prices.

What we are trying to do, Ed, now is demand that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an arcane agency which regulates the oil futures market, use emergency power to end excessive speculation.

SCHULTZ: Now, we`ve been down this road before. Identical legislation was overwhelmingly passed in the House in 2008. And it`s not likely to pass the House this time. Obviously, the Republicans are going to try to make this an issue. This really has been their best issue, blaming the president for gas prices, don`t you think?

SANDERS: I think it`s a potent issue because people are disgusted. They`re profoundly angry. And it`s hurting the entire economy. But I`m not as pessimistic as you might be.

I think if we rally the American people to say, end excessive speculation, let supply and demand play the role it`s supposed to play, we could win in the House as well.

SCHULTZ: Senator, great to have you with us tonight. Great work. Thank you so much.

SANDERS: Thank you.

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