I would like to discuss the blocked persons list of the United States Treasury and condemn the treasury for being somewhat out to lunch on the realities of the business world and how things work. First if you will check out this site with the lists of blocked people who may be involved in such activities you will see the format is impossible to utilize quickly. Blocked peoples list;
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/t11sdn.pdf
Now I propose that the treasury build a page on the Internet and give this the link of such a page to every brokerage firm and bank in the country to link to. Then these names are put into an XML database, with a search feature on the site people can fill out. These American Financial Institution people can input a name and the search feature pulls up the names closest to the name in the search feature.
This XML database will cost about $5,000 to build and can be done in four days and added to the site, no need to send it out to bid and cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and be done in nine months. Besides I think the US Government still can afford the 5K as there are homeless people paying more than that in income tax. I hope this does not sound too cynical, but that is the reality of the situation. Really there are many soccer moms now who can build this in their sleep between taking the kids two and from school in about 4 days of 5 hours each.
Clearly this database as it sits is ill prepared, ill thought out and utterly ridiculous. It is unusable in its 77 pages and the person who designed it this way must be retired by now, we need to catch up with the times. This makes the treasury department look really dumb. They cannot be serious? The XML database can then furnish results and record a number which the bank or broker can list on the forms for CYA and the Treasury department has a listing of it forever electronically. How easy this would be, but instead they produce this .pdf, 77 page document? And do not seem to mind that they will waste the time of good Americans who are in fear for their jobs and careers and therefore have to go through this archaic process. Surely it can be done better than this? America is counting on you. No business could operate this slow. If you cannot do it have Amazon.com set it up for you or have Google put it on their site for free. They can advertise it and bring traffic to their web site. If the treasury department cannot do better than this, then in fact clearly it does not deserve to be protecting the integrity of our nations financial system and currency.
If we expect the Corporate World to do their part each time the SEC makes another law, averaging right now about one every 6 days which require IT modifications to all sorts of businesses and corporations in many sectors, then the treasury should be doing theirs and have it available in a ready to use, easy to use format, which can be added too or names taken off as those suspects are caught and/or killed. Patriot Act? Whose team is the Treasury Department on? Restricting money flow by scaring brokers and bankers? Leading by fear I see? Well I thought that was the International Terrorists job? I guess if you cannot beat them, join them?
We need to streamline systems not stop them. I cannot believe no one has made a formal complaint in this matter. The Data Base should be known to every American not just financial institutions. Your process of ongoing education and know your customers laws fall far short of any quick streamlining fix of the problem in a modern country with modern computer capabilities.
The business community is at the top of the game with information, why isn’t the Treasury Department. I sincerely hope this is fixed before too many people read this post. And I certainly hope no one attempts to assert that the Department is working on the problem, because I, personally could have this fixed in four days. And I merely wash cars.
If anyone out there has ideas to help our Government with it’s duty to protect the American people, then stand up and say something, so we can get to the bottom of these types of situations and see that issues are fixed, that operations are streamlined and that this country and our citizenry can look forward to a prosperous future that our ancestor had sacrificed to give us.
“Lance Winslow” – If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs