Apr. 09, 2021
To whom it may concern, I am writing in support of Rule NSCC-2021-801. I am fortunate enough to have a BS in Economics from a great university. I've since made a career in grappling with complex data and issues, until I can distill them into digestible takeaways for clients, users, and the like. I am very thankful to work in the capacity that I do-- it is very fulfilling work, to understand something well enough that I can share my knowledge with others. However, the other, more-regrettable, side to that coin is seeing firsthand how much complexity obfuscates the decision-making of average people like you and I. Frankly, in a week spent really diving in on this issue, my professional summary would be something to the tune of: mandates increased transparency in the finance industry, in the same respect that you have to go through underwriting when you want to take out a loan. Investments need collateral commensurate with the level of risk. See 2008-2009 for more information. Of course, "level of risk" is a difficult notion to pin down. Especially with how little transparency there is in the financial industry. This is something I desperately wish to correct. Open data and information is the cornerstone of any healthy system of knowledge. It's why scientists publish their findings for peer review. Why Lemon Laws are written to combat instances of predatory information asymmetry. It's why Google will put the number to suicide-prevention hotlines ahead of any worrisome search activity. Ultimately though, the vast majority of Americans are blissfully unaware that this rule proposal is even happening. More to the point, I worry that even if they were, they wouldn't be equipped with the context and foundational knowledge to weigh in a manner consistent with their sense of right and wrong. To me, this proposal is a no-brainer: open information in the financial system that pervades our everyday life is categorically a good thing and I hope I'm not alone in that. Thank you, -Nick Hounshell