By Bay Buchanan | December 28, 2020 | 4:29pm EST
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Free expression makes America great. Unfortunately, many of our corporations don’t respect this concept.
Time and time again, corporations bent the knee before outraged activists and stifled the free speech of ordinary Americans. We see this when social media giants regularly censor and ban individuals who run afoul of liberal orthodoxy. President Trump rails against this phenomenon for good reason it undermines our fundamental liberties.
Less noticed is the threat of financial de-platforming. This growing menace means those who dissent from the official left-wing line won’t even be allowed to bank or use a credit card. Fortunately, there is a new proposal that could put an end to this nefarious trend.
Policy
It is called Chapter 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations. That is where all the rules for regulating America’s vast banking system are codified. Following years of complaints by companies that banks are denying them lending, credit and services, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has decided to act to reinforce its mandate to ensure fair access to banking and financial services to all legitimate businesses regardless of their political or philosophical persuasion.
The problem, as described in the OCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is that banks have been practicing discriminatory “de-banking” of politically disfavored clientele.
Policy
The bank typically contacts the company with short notice, somewhere around thirty days is the average. It comes in a phone call. Nothing is written down by the bank that can create a paper trail that the denial was based on arbitrary prejudice against a company. The termination letters say only that on such and such a date all accounts will be closed, any outstanding fees deducted from balances, and cashier’s checks will be mailed to the former customer. No regrets. No goodbyes. This is gaslighting, the business edition.
Cloak and Dagger Bullying
It is a dark, murky, under the table world when a bank decides to cut off lending, credit and services to a firearms company. It leaves companies bullied, fearful and gun shy. Even after finding a new banker, which typically takes three to four attempts, their lawyers counsel flying low to avoid the radar.