Posted on 03/15/2022 6:31:13 AM PDT by Heartlander
Recently, we looked at a new idea governments are looking at — programmable digital currency. It’s all digital, issued by government, constantly trackable, and can’t be spent on items not approved by government (or only with penalties). The Federal Reserve Board (the United States’ central bank) explains, bureaucratically,
Potential benefits of the “digital cash” model using programmable UTXOs are the ability to specify spending constraints on any discrete amount of value and a greater facility to trace the provenance of any particular “virtual banknote.”Alexander Lee, “What is programmable money?” at FEDS Notes (June 23, 2021)
In other words, the two benefits of these central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are that the government can potentially control what the money is spent on and can trace the transactions in great detail.
In more straightforward language, we learn from Nasdaq that it can go right down to the cereal you buy:
In terms of distributing stimulus or emergency funds, the U.S. government and Federal Reserve would have a level of fine-tuned control like never before. Payments could be sorted out by income level, employment status, geographical location, or any number of other things…
And attempts to purchase a restricted item — like, say, a firearm without proper background clearance — could be automatically denied.
In many ways, programmable digital money would be a fantasy come true for economists. This is because economists believe economies are driven by human behavior, and human behavior is driven by incentives, and all kinds of incentives could be built into digital money…
For example, fossil fuel use might be embedded with a higher VAT (value-added tax) surcharge than green energy use. Buying sugary cereal might create a small debit, whereas buying broccoli creates a small credit. And so on.
In addition to the above, all transactions would be instantly available for review, or easily aggregated into “big data” analysis patterns. This would give the Federal Reserve unprecedented new levels of visibility into the current state of the economy. Justice Clark Litle/TradeSmith, “Programmable Digital Currencies Are Coming – Here’s What That Means” at Nasdaq (August 18, 2020)
The critical change is not that the government charges you more tax for the sugary cereal (and rewards you for the broccoli); the government could do that anyway just by taxing sugary cereal as a snack rather than a staple and keeping broccoli prices down via subsidies to farmers. Those are questions of public policy that, ultimately, voters decide. No, the critical change is rather that the government knows that you bought that cereal rather than the virtuous broccoli. It goes on your record.
That’s more or less how the social credit system works in China today.
More seriously, you might automatically be denied a loan, based on data from the government that says you can’t afford it.
Litle notes that governments are already setting up the machinery:
The hypothetical power, visibility, and control inherent in such a tool will prove impossible to resist.
This is why central banks everywhere are either running in-depth experiments, launching full-fledged digital currency initiatives, or even preparing to fine-tune and scale a prototype digital currency as rapidly as possible. China is well ahead of the game in this regard. Justice Clark Litle/TradeSmith, “Programmable Digital Currencies Are Coming – Here’s What That Means” at Nasdaq (August 18, 2020)
Cryptocurrencies will come to seem more attractive as a result. China, incidentally, has banned all cryptos.
Of course, one reason for the popularity of digital currencies (programmable or otherwise), admitted in some industry discussions, is to provide a digital alternative to cryptos:
The primary benefits of CBDCs include near-instant settlement, the potential for reduced transaction costs, enhanced security and programmable payments – a new breed of automated payment. Secondary benefits like financial inclusion vary in materiality by country; while monetary policy implementation and countering the threat of stablecoins with a CBDC are yet to be established. The report suggests there is potential for a CBDC to power an alternative, regulated digital currency ecosystem that could otherwise be filled by privately issued alternatives such as stablecoins.“‘A New Era for Money’: Green Paper Outlines A Digital Future for the Pound” at Financial IT (February 10, 2022) Here’s the green paper.
Stablecoins? A stablecoin is a soundly based private currency:
a class of cryptocurrencies that attempt to offer price stability and are backed by a reserve asset. Stablecoins have gained traction as they attempt to offer the best of both worlds—the instant processing and security or privacy of payments of cryptocurrencies, and the volatility-free stable valuations of fiat currencies. – Adam Hayes, Investopedia (January 27, 2022)
The first step to whatever lies ahead, of course, is all-digital currency. Just today, a number of headlines heralded growing government interest: “Digital dollar coming? Biden signs exec order to study CBDC” (TechHQ), “RBI’s CBDC can make payment systems efficient: Deloitte” (Business Today), and “Biden’s Executive Order Calls for ‘Highest Urgency’ on CBDC Research and Development” (Yahoo! Finance), for starters.
All-digital currency does not, by itself, create social credit surveillance and control. It merely enables them. Whether they are so enabled depends largely on choices made by the electorate.
My neighbors here in the blue part of Ohio would be all for this, as long as it limited me and not them. They aren’t very good at seeing ramifications of what they think are “good ideas”.
This is the red line where the government needs to be burnt into cinders. Make a list of names of those who support this and try to advance it. These are the people whose blood needs to water the tree of liberty as they are hanging from it.
Ultimately, this would be a gross infringements of the 4th Amendment and the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
When the government can see what you are buying they can on a whim, in typical knee-jerk fashion, turn you into a criminal for those purchases. Its been proven again and again and again that if they CAN do something they WILL do something, regardless of legalities. DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR.
“Government Control of What You Buy Grows More Popular”
And all the Sheeple said baaaaayes
Just wow. And, if you go to worship services where the Bible is taught, you’re going into deep debt.
“And attempts to purchase a restricted item — like, say, a firearm without proper background clearance — could be automatically denied.”
The Dems would love this, There would be no need for gun control laws, just simply deny all gun purchases.
I will not comply.
Take note of this! It’s what the statists want. But one thing is missing. The ability to take what they want from your account. And they will do just that! If you have “too much” money, they will take the “excess” and give it to someone who will vote the right way.
There will be an exemption for the ruling elite, but all others will have no choice but to conform.
They will implement ration controls, allowing you only so much any product, such as health care, gas, toilet paper, rice or wheat, fish or beet, etc. I worked in Ration Control in Korea for J-1 for six weeks and implemented a newer system which got the two officers there MSMs for implementing my ideas.
Everything will be subject to “normal use” allocations. Of course, there are exceptions to policy. Exceptions are basically tailored to fit the needs of organizations and high ranking individuals.
CBDCs are fascist coin. They must be opposed at all costs.
There's always barter...and always will be.
And you can bet that NO such restrictions will be placed on EBT cards.
They will implement ration controls, allowing you only so much any product, such as health care, gas, toilet paper, rice or wheat, fish or beet, etc.
Unless you’re a Party member in good standing!
“This is the red line where the government needs to be burnt into cinders. Make a list of names of those who support this and try to advance it. These are the people whose blood needs to water the tree of liberty as they are hanging from it.”
Legislation to support this type of project has probably already passed in a massive 5000 page bill, written by Congressional staff and lobbyists, which no Congresscritter read. Likely the language of the enabling legislation was carefully crafted to authorize digital currency currency by delegating to the bureaucrats at the Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve the authority to study, issue, and regulate digital currency. In this way Congress critters can deny they voted for new shackles on the citizens while at the same time serving the donor base and the bureaucracy.
The aggregation of hundreds, or even thousands, of unrelated items in massive bills is standard operating procedure today in Congress. Congresscritters love these bills because it allows them to avoid accountability. The advance of the progressive state has been enabled by so called “conservative” Republicans voting for liberal legislation hiding in massive bills.
This should be encouraged.
Then, whenever there is something like a power outage and it becomes completely unusable, it’s time to roll out a special sale on commodities.
“Want a gallon of milk? OK, $30, cash only. Oh, you didn’t plan for this? Too, F**in bad. Now, $40.”
“don’t have that?” “OK, but the guy behind you does. See how the market works? New guy, $20.”
its funny how they perpetually march forward on this quest to dominate, not understanding that people are tired of it and are becoming more and more willing to spill blood over it. How is it they STILL don’t grasp why Trump was elected? And really , even Mr. Hope and Change before him- for the same reasons. People voted for them because they are tired of the abomination that our government has become.
A Socialist Control Freak wet dream. Coming soon. They can’t resist.
Or ammo.
And of course, that old "shall not be infringed" will be automatically erased. Like the rest of your rights, both enumerated and not.
Secession is the only solution at this point.
IF anything can be used for the good of the people, the government will find a way to use it against the people.
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