CFTC Commissioner Chilton Talks Reality TV

CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton delivered a speech to the Michigan Agri-Business Association, analogizing the "brutality" of commodity markets with popular reality TV shows.Paralleling topics such as Massive Passive investors with "those guys on Deadliest Catch," Chilton attempted to use popular culture to express his views of the financial markets. The Commissioner addressed the lack of resources among "under-funded" enforcement officials who are attempting to regulate the market, stating that a CFTC enforcement reality show should be created about the "many Unsolved Mysteries" of the industry. He suggested in order to fix this problem, Congress should allow the CFTC to collect a transaction fee from speculators using both futures and swaps commodity markets, as well as increase the penalty to $1 million per violation for individuals – "take that, Joe Millionaire" – and $10 million for firms. Additionally, Chilton communicated the need for an "Intervention" with banks, stating that Congress should do away with the ability of the Fed to allow any commodity-related ownership by banks.

See: Commissioner Chilton's Speech "The Brutality of Reality".