BANKS' `WAR ON DRUGS' AN INVASION OF PRIVACY

This letter is in response to a proposal under review by the banking
industry and the federal government known as "know your customer." The
concept is to allow the banking industry to forward confidential, personal
monetary information to the federal government. This would be done to find
money laundering schemes typically used by drug dealers.

This idea is utterly ludicrous! To put this under the guise of a "war on
drugs" is basically insulting the intelligence of the public. Please tell me
where the upstanding drug dealers are that will put hundreds of thousands of
dollars in a bank! Are they doing it for the wonderful gifts? If they are,
then the government should search houses to see who has an abundance of
toasters, blenders and wall clocks.

Why would any corrupt individual send up a flag to the establishment, "Hey,
I've got tons of money! I put it in a safe place, a bank." If the money were
in a bank to begin with, then it is reportable income to the IRS. The IRS
should be able to track "discrepancies" by auditing tax returns.

I really believe that this is a further attempt to subject people who have
legitimately earned money to scrutiny. To subject hard-working,
security-minded individuals to another government microscope will only harm
the future of the country.

I want to voice my extreme and unequivocal rejection of this idea of having
the banking industry act as "DEA agents" and government spies. This is
another "feel good" act by the government. If I want to live in a socialist
country, I will move.