Posted on 04/24/2002 9:16:48 AM PDT by Dick Bachert
Do you remember Clinton’s “Know your Customer” program? It’s been about four years now, so I would suppose most Americans have completely forgotten.
Here’s your refresher. Clinton’s Treasury department came up with this idea that would require all banks, savings and loan offices, credit unions and other financial institutions to develop a profile on all of their customers. The profile would include details on deposits, withdrawals, where money is spent, how money is spent, where the deposits come from, how much is spent or withdrawn in a typical week or month --- etc. Then the financial institution would watch your deposit, withdrawal and spending patterns. If you changed your pattern of financial transactions your bank would then be required to notify the Drug Enforcement Administration, the IRS and other federal enforcement agencies. The feds would then make up their minds whether or not your financial activities deserved further investigation.
The idea was killed. Not by newspaper editorials or exposure on ABC’s 20-20, or CBS’s 60 Minutes. It was killed by talk radio.
Now .. today we get news that Bush’s Treasury Department is implementing a new money laundering law. Again, it affects the full range of financial institutions. Banks, credit card companies, securities companies … all are under the mandate of the new law. They’ll have to establish a means whereby they can identify you as a risk for money laundering. They’ll also have to share this information with other financial institutions and the feds.
Is this “know your customer” under a different name? It’s awfully vague, so it’s hard to tell. It sounds to me like the feds are trying to implement the same program without detailing just how it is to be done.
Face it. The government wants more and more information about your daily finances. They’ll keep pushing until they get it. There just aren’t enough Americans around who (a) really give a damn, and (b) will do anything about it.
Even worse!
"Even worse!"
Oh, it's okay now. Bush wants to do it, so it has to be okay.
Would the author please indicate what law that is, and who proposed it? And, has Bush signed it?
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