A growing problem is the rise of the power of organisations. We are used to people on benefits and very low incomes being told what to do by government agencies and having little power to change the system. Any one who saw the Michael Fagan character in The Crown will understand.
The problem is that people like me are being treated the same way. Banks, professional bodies etc are demanding information without reason, to be provided via websites which are unusable because the people demanding the information or designing the systems have not worked in the environment that the people supplying the information have worked in.
Thus populism is not a Trump issue, it is a reaction to the way that society has moved and the way that governments demand that things like anti-money laundering policies and such like are implemented. I have suffered four such events in the last three weeks. My professional body requires me to fill in a 27 page online form each year for the purposes of regulatory review. I know, because of my involvement with the body, that our regulatory department is unable to see the information I submit. So where that information goes, no-one knows! It is box ticking of the worst kind. Especially since the 'save and close' button does not work and closing the page and opening it again means I have to fill everything in again from the beginning.
I need some tax advice from a specialist. He has know me for 40 years; eaten in my house (and vice-versa); his father went to school with mine. Yet I need to send him my Driving Licence and Council Tax bill so he can tick a box to say he 'Knows his Client'. How will that stop Money Laundering? Why not use discretion?
My bank want to know who runs my business. All they have to do is ask, but instead they require uploaded flow charts that require chartered accountants to prepare. It takes time, costs money and increases blood pressure. And of course none of this stop Money Laundering or terrorism, because governments will not take on Facebook etc in terms of end-to-end encryption of messaging.
Therefore, speak to a load of Chartered Surveyors who are the people that keep the property market moving and you will find extreme Trump like opinions because, being at the coal face, no-one hears you scream. And whilst I dislike many of Trump's personal attributes, the concept of 'draining the swamp' is very appealing. We need a return to common sense, personal discretion and compassion; none of which appear in dealings with modern organisations.
Last edited by: Netsur on Wed 25 Nov 20 at 10:12
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