May 3, 2011
OPEN UP THE STOCK MARKET TO THE DEAF!
I am profoundly deaf and have not been able to find a single brokerage firm that will deal with me via the internet and say a coded passed word or a captcha form of verification.
In order for me to buy or sell something, I must have my husband make the related phone call and I was required to give him permission to buy and sell on my behalf. That is not something for personal, medical reasons I wanted to do.
Why is it that people can use cell phones to make trades but we who are deaf are treated as if we were children. It is my money but apparently your regulations prohibit brokerages from arranging deaf friendly methods for me to control my own world. And no, the deaf do not use 60 year old, obsolete TTY technology that is expensive and is limited to a specific two locations.
We do though use the internet like crazy and if you want to insist that I purchase a super duper security package which I already have, fine. But ten percent of the population is deaf and that number will be going up due to the aging boomers and the iPod blasters. You are excluding us from participating in your economic growth and mine as well.
I will forward a copy of this to the FCC which is implementing the laws passed in November that they are administering that intend to "level the communications field for the deaf in America," because your agency more than any other I have dealt with just completely ignores the law of the land.
Sincerely,
Helen Holmes