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During the Barack Obama communist regime in the United States one of the anti-private sector attacks was called Operation Choke Point. While masked as a way to go after "predatory lending," and "fraud in a variety of high risk industries," the reality was that the third party payment processors, and other services in the targeted industries were doing nothing illegal, and the federal government was using Operation Choke Point to choke them out of existence because they disapproved of the industries. The targeted agents of commerce were providing a service, albeit one that most folks would steer away from, and some folks were willing to use those services at their own potential peril. The program basically was an excuse to insert government control into the free market, allowing the government to freeze banking services, and choke off the industry. In 2011, the government used a similar devious plot to take down the otherwise legal American online poker industry in 2011. While I am not a supporter of gambling, if it is legal, and people are willing to participate in the industry, who is government to come in and purposely choke the service out of business?
Targets by the government to be shut down because they don't like them was ammunition sales, cable box de-scramblers, coin dealers, credit card schemes, credit repair services, dating services, drug paraphernalia, escort services, firearms, fireworks, home-based charities, lifetime guarantees, lifetime memberships, lottery sales, money transfer networks, online gambling, payday loans, pornography, tobacco, travel clubs, and many others. While many may not be seem moral or ethical to a number of folks (and some are indeed moral and ethical . . . i.e. ammunition and firearms), they are legal, and allowing government to play games so as to choke the life out of these businesses is wrong, and opens Pandora's Box for government to use similar methods to take down other business in a "we pick who wins and dies" scheme that oozes with communist-style control over the means of production and private industry operations.
While on the surface the idea of tackling payment processor fraud is commendable, the Operation Choke Point strategy is a direct attack on private commerce. Banks are already unconstitutionally highly regulated, and its gotten to the point that a great number of financial industry players and banks cannot afford the extra administration that accompanies a Choke Point subpoena.
Targets by the government to be shut down because they don't like them was ammunition sales, cable box de-scramblers, coin dealers, credit card schemes, credit repair services, dating services, drug paraphernalia, escort services, firearms, fireworks, home-based charities, lifetime guarantees, lifetime memberships, lottery sales, money transfer networks, online gambling, payday loans, pornography, tobacco, travel clubs, and many others. While many may not be seem moral or ethical to a number of folks (and some are indeed moral and ethical . . . i.e. ammunition and firearms), they are legal, and allowing government to play games so as to choke the life out of these businesses is wrong, and opens Pandora's Box for government to use similar methods to take down other business in a "we pick who wins and dies" scheme that oozes with communist-style control over the means of production and private industry operations.
While on the surface the idea of tackling payment processor fraud is commendable, the Operation Choke Point strategy is a direct attack on private commerce. Banks are already unconstitutionally highly regulated, and its gotten to the point that a great number of financial industry players and banks cannot afford the extra administration that accompanies a Choke Point subpoena.
Customers, left with no alternative, then are forced to seek the services of less reputable lenders, and in the case of firearms and ammunition, it encourages an under-the-table "off-the-books" world of commerce.
Businesses need to be allowed to make their own business decisions without the threat of being required by regulators to jump through hoops.
Businesses need to be allowed to make their own business decisions without the threat of being required by regulators to jump through hoops.
While the overall picture reveals a few successes by Operation Check Point in smoking out genuine fraudsters, overall the harm being caused against the private commerce market has been damaging both economically, and to the general liberty of all Americans. Never mind the potential for authoritarian-style abuse, as well.
Under the Trump administration, Operation Choke Point is done for.
The Department of Justice has officially closed down Operation Choke Point. In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Bob Goodlatte (R.-VA), Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd confirmed that the Department of Justice has closed down all its initiatives that formed part of the Operation.
The Department of Justice has officially closed down Operation Choke Point. In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Bob Goodlatte (R.-VA), Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd confirmed that the Department of Justice has closed down all its initiatives that formed part of the Operation.
Mr. Boyd’s letter calls Choke Point “misguided” and goes on to say “We reiterate that the Department will not discourage the provision of financial services to lawful industries, including businesses engaged in short-term lending and firearms-related activities.” This should go some way towards persuading banks that they will not come under pressure from the Justice Department for establishing banking relationships with non-politically correct industries.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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