This isn’t the worlds best article and I don’t agree with everything said including some of the links to the likes of Pro FATCA-ite David Dayen. However, overall the author does seem to get it especially as most left wingers in the homeland defend “Operation Chokepoint” as strongly as they defend FATCA.
Denying people access to the economy is a powerful method of oppression that many marginalized groups have been reporting for a long time,” said Maggie Mayhem. “You’ll hear everywhere that ‘sex sells’ and there is the assumption that you’re probably wealthy,” she added, and yet, “our very existence is outside the boundaries of lawful digital commerce.”
Kicking people they don’t like out of the mainstream economy is a disturbing trend of the banksters (or perhaps their government minders). Another common scenario is that the economy is tanked and someone bounces a cheque or two. Their chequing account is then closed and they get reported to ChexSystems. This makes it very hard to open a new account and effectively relegates the person to the much shadier and more expensive alternative economy of payday loans, cheque cashing services, and prepaid cards.
@Dash1729
I tend to hold the government minders more accountable than the banksters although both parties are to blame. Almost all left wing articles other than the one I linked to in my post hold the banksters completely to blame. I personally think the government minders are more to blame than the author from Salon did.
As to the solution:
1. Some countries like Canada have Access to Basic Banking laws but post FATCA these are all being gutted.
2. A small number of US politicians such as Elizabeth Warren have called for the US Post Office to offer basic banking services. This is something I personally would support but I also don’t get the sense their is much of a political push behind other than from Warren and maybe a few others. Also most other countries that DO have postal banking are moving away from it in the post FATCA era.
I think a lot of people view banking as a “privilege” not a right including many on the “left.” This is rather shocking to me as the whole premise of Obamacare for example is EVERYONE should have private health insurance.
I do find that in terms of both Left and Right’s views of non mainstream finance/economy there is rather disturbing element of Plessy v Ferguson separate but equal.
Basically the pro FATCA pro Operation Chokepoint left wingers such as David Dayen are arguing that segregation and separate but equal accomodations would have been “ok” if the damned private business that segregated their customers in the US deep south actually provided “equal” facilities.
Separate but equal is always fine from the point of view of those it won’t apply to – then and now.
The USG hasn’t made a secret of the fact that the next frontier of corralling the world will be through financial institutions and access ,,, or not.
Operation Choke Point is coercion by the DOJ against banks to get rid of politically disfavored customers. This week’s Economist has an article on it:
Excerpt:
“The congressional report’s contention is that banks … are simply ceasing to do business with all firms in industries that regulators have identified as suffering from frequent legal problems. These include seemingly legitimate businesses such as selling ammunition, coins, medicine, magazine subscriptions, fireworks and tobacco, the report points out. As it goes on to say, “Banks are put in an unenviable position: discontinue long-standing, profitable relationships with fully licensed and legal businesses, or face a potentially ruinous lawsuit by the Department of Justice.” ”
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21603463-anti-fraud-push-accused-turning-bankers-unaccountable-cops-catch
Many of us who have seen our bank accounts force-closed, due to the place of our birth, can understand what it is like to suddenly be “bank-less” as a result of US government policy. Although Obama and Holder may not like the fact that someone works as a stripper, as in the Economist article, unless Congress passes a law that outlaws stripping, the DOJ should not be able to cause banks to discriminate against strippers (or others on their list) by closing their accounts.
and sometimes things also go in the opposite direction to Operation Choke, as illustrated recently by the RBI:
bit.ly/1jmSLcI
“Can we do this (KYC) better (without) compromising on security, while allowing ease of access? If it (KYC) becomes a bureaucratic end-in-itself and prevents us from expanding access even while not doing so much to keep the crooks away from the system, we have to re-examine them,” Raghuram Rajan had said.
What Operation Choke Hold is doing to some US-resident Americans who work in disfavored but legal industries is similar to the terror campaign launched against Americans abroad under FATCA. A reader’s post on the American Bankers Association website illustrates the closing of a daughter’s bank account because she works for a topless club in California:
“Dear God! I would have thought if I opened a site like Operation Choke Point that it was just a stupid site that believes in all the conspiracy theories. However I deliberately looked this up after my daughter’s banker told her that is why her account was closed. She works for a topless club in Hollywood, CA. Her bank is Chase. This is the most frightening thing that has ever happened. I am now a believer in what havoc obama has reaped on American people. When are people going to realize that this is not a joke or the result of hysterical people. This is for real.”
http://www.americanbanker.com/gallery/timeline-operation-choke-point-1066360-1.html
A recent Washington Post article describes Operation Choke Point and targeted industries and employees of targeted industries:
“The general outline is the DOJ and bank regulators are putting the screws to banks and other third-party payment processors to refuse banking services to companies and industries that are deemed to pose a “reputation risk” to the bank. Most controversially, the list of dubious industries is populated by enterprises that are entirely, or at least generally, legal. Tom Blumer’s extremely informative post summarizing what is known to date about Operation Choke Point reproduces the list, which includes things such as ammunition sales, escort services, get-quick-rich schemes, on-line gambling, “racist materials” and payday loans. Quite obviously, some of these things are not like the other; moreover, just because there are some bad apples within a legal industry doesn’t justify effectively destroying a legal industry through secret executive fiat.
…
The ability to destroy legal industries through secret actions to deprive them of banking services has obvious political consequences. For example, it was reported last week that firearms shops are alleging that Operation Choke Point is being used to pressure banks into refusing to providing financial services. There are also reports that porn stars (and here) have had their bank accounts terminated for “moral” reasons related to the “reputation risk” of banking individuals in the porn industry. IRS officials must already be salivating about ways to apply Operation Choke Point to tea party groups.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/05/24/operation-choke-point/
The conservative Washington Examiner also has an article on Operation Choke Point and a list of “risky” businesses targeted by the Obama administration:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/29/operation-choke-point-deliberately-targets-busines/
Brockers who have suffered the loss of banking services due to FATCA (and the US-Swiss Programme) can empathize with Homelanders who are being persecuted by the Obama administration for working in legal but disfavored industries. The Obama administration’s terror campaigns against Americans at home and abroad need to be stopped.