[This message was posted by John Harris of BondMart Technologies, Inc.
<[email protected]> to the "US Regulations" discussion forum at
http://fixprotocol.org/discuss/48. You can reply to it on-line at
http://fixprotocol.org/discuss/read/79df5e5b - PLEASE DO NOT REPLY BY MAIL.]
If adopted, the SEC's Big Brother/Total Information Awareness ("Consolidated
Audit Trail") program for financial transactions would render moot FPL and the
FIX protocol. As a practical matter, the notion of a voluntary,
"industry-driven messaging standard" would be replaced by a coercive, rigid,
government-driven set of messaging rules, operating with the force of law. For
those members and volunteers who have contributed their time, money,
intelligence, experience, energy, and creativity to the improvement of the FIX
protocol, cooperation with the SEC's totalitarian proposal will only work to
ensure that their contributions are no longer welcome or necessary.
As proposed, the morally-repugnant, Big Brother scheme requires brokers and
exchanges to collect all order information in a "uniform electronic format" -
one size fits all, come hell, high water, or innovation. This format could not
be changed without government permission, following a formal rule-making
process, spearheaded by a new "plan processor" that most definitely will not be
FPL. Goodbye, FPL. Your reason for existence was just declared null and void.
Members of the Global Steering Committee can continue to meet, of course, just
as FPL can continue to exist, but their meetings will be as pointless as FPL's
continued existence. Sure, they can reminisce about the good, ol' days, when
their ideas actually mattered, presuming their employers or shareholders
consider such exercises in nostalgia a good use of their time.
To the extent FIX is adopted as the uniform electronic format envisioned by Big
Brother, new protocol versions would be matters of government decree.
There might still be a few opportunities for FIX developers and consultants,
but not as independent businesses. They will need to obtain employment either
with the plan processor or its prime contractor, which in all likelihood will
be a major defense contractor. After all, terrorists or Red China might use
manipulation the U.S. capital markets to fund their fantasies of destroying the
U.S. Such threats are too important to be left to the likes of a FIX Flyer or
Orc.
My friends, the days when you could shirk your responsibilities as citizens and
leave politics to others are gone. Even if the loss of your privacy posed by
Big Brother doesn't bother you, the loss of your livelihood should wake you
from your slumber. If this vile scheme comes to pass, FIX as we know it is
dead.
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