To some on Main Street, Wall Street and all its financial shenanigans are to blame for the crumbling housing market. After all, if there hadn’t been a market for sub-prime mortgage debt, some people might have had a tougher time getting a mortgage and perhaps wouldn’t have bought homes they really couldn’t afford.

Now it appears Wall Street could also shoulder some of the blame for those skyhigh oil prices.

Of course, all of us who drive SUVs (myself included) are partly responsible for climbing oil demand….and so too are new powerhouse economies like China and India. But, a growing number of market participants are not taking delivery of oil at all, they’re merely trading the futures contracts as an “investment.” These investors include hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds and exchange-traded funds. They keep buying and buying oil futures…driving up the prices. Some believe the speculative segment of the energy market is only about 10 percent…but it’s a very busy 10 percent.

So, is it now fair to also blame Wall Street for the $100 it costs you to fill up your gas tank??