Well, irennay, dismiss my comments as a “rant” if you wish. But I’ve been around far too long to trust that those set in authority over us KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE DOING in the first place, and that WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS IN MY BEST INTEREST, in the second.

Oh, I believe the government and its agencies start out with “honorable intentions” but it doesn’t take too long before they all seem to morph from public servants to public masters. The public has completely lost control of what its government is “up to” and it goes without saying that the public has absolutely no influence or control over what agencies such as the CIA or FBI do. Any of these “secret service”-type organizations simply claim “national security” as complete justification to tell the public either NOTHING or OUTRIGHT LIES. The “Freedom of Information Act” is a completely ineffective JOKE.

And there’s not a damned thing you or I, Congress, The Senate or even The Administration can do about it. The inmates are now running the asylum. Enjoy the ride!

To irrenay…

You ask questions the answers to which from any source would be so unreliable as to be useless for any purpose. Unless you personally can gain access to the accounts and safety deposit boxes in Switzerland, you have only someone else’s report to go on… therefore UNRELIABLE.

The US Government & its agencies can do as they wish and unless you have the access to the money and enforcement that they do, YOU LOSE. End of story.

As I said, the only defense open to the “little person” is to remain invisible. If they don’t know you exist or can’t find you, YOU WIN. Anyway, these “agency” types are looking for the “big score”. But they don’t mind screwing up a “little person” for sport once in a while - you know, like to break in a new agent - send him/her after a small fish first. You just know these excited newbies will go to the ends of the earth to nail your hide to the wall to earn their brownie points.

My big problem with BIG GOV is that it’s never a fair fight. They have all the resources and they make up the laws as they go along. Also, it doesn’t matter a damn to them that you’ve done nothing illegal - they’ll MAKE UP something, or PLANT evidence to bring you down. There are NO ETHICS amongst YOUR government agents. They’re cowboys with six-guns and they’ll plug anything they damn well feel like pluggin’.

Anytime I had more than $20,000 to my name I kept it, IN CASH, where “authorities” not only didn’t know about it but couldn’t possibly get their hands on it. Lose out on the “interest?” Sure I did - but the paltry sum I could get on it wasn’t worth the risk of putting it where “authority” could get their hands on it.

I simply do not trust “authority” to respect my right to do with my possessions as I see fit - to keep their hands off MY stuff. Read the fine print on any of your accounts - the bank holds all the cards and, with the possible exception of publishing your account info in the newspaper, they can reveal it to practically any “authority” that asks.

The moment you put money in a bank account ANY government agency knows about it. Every move you make with it, THEY track it (or can if they wish to). I don’t agree with this self-serving “policy.”

“Authority” these days operates on the assumption that we, the little people, exist solely for their benefit. They assume the right to invade our privacy and confiscate our possessions. Oh sure, we can put up a fuss but we all know “they” have unlimited resources and time and will either win in the end or bankrupt you in the process.

So… forewarned is forearmed. What they don’t know about, in my books, is none of their business. The secret is NOT TO OBTAIN OR USE THE FUNDS ILLEGALLY and TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT about its existence to everyone except those who need to know AND who you would trust with your life.

It doesn’t matter that I’m not doing anything illegal - the point is MY BUSINESS IS MY BUSINESS. If I could trust that financial institutions and other “money handlers” in our society were honest (including the IRS) etc., there would be no need for this cloak and dagger stuff. But I don’t. From where I stand, many of those wearing $1,000 suits and driving fine cars and enjoying “status” in our society are OUT AND OUT CROOKS. Let them go screw over someone else.

Tax cheats and money launderers are like drug dealers. Well, some of them are…

If there are a couple guys standing on the corner selling drugs, and the cops move in and chase them away, they’ll just move to another street corner.

I am curious as to how a foreign tax agency (IRS) that isn’t even technically legal could make the Swiss spill the beans.I

UBS has offices and branches in all over the country.

http://apps1.ubs.com/locationfinder/searchForm.do?GeoEntityId=3&GeoEntityType=3

If UBS were limited to Switzerland, the US would probably have to use international laws, if any exist.

“The show should be interesting”? I sincerely hope so, but I doubt if anything other than fines and penalties will be levied on the offending millionares. It would be very satisfying to see Gramm charged like Al Capone, and sentenced to life plus restitution. If the government gets it money, plus a bit extra, they rarely punish people like these. Think how much better off we would be if big business paid its fair share,and was taxed heavily for moving their “offices” to the Caymans. Our businesses seem to stay im America long enough to get rich, then set up a phoney offices for tax purposes. That is a problem that needs remedied. I admit I’ve not been following this story, so I don’t know what started the investigation into Swiss accounts. I am curious as to how a foreign tax agency (IRS) that isn’t even technically legal could make the Swiss spill the beans.It is curious that all our government seems to concern itself with is how to get money out of people.

How many street people have Swiss Bank accounts? Where do they get those shopping carts? We need answers folks.

The tax cheaters will have to move their money to other banks to protect themselves.  The movement of that money will tip off the feds where to look.  They are counting on the guilty to panic and disclose themselves.  I wonder how many “high and mighty” will fall.  The show should be interesting.