Looks like the cash concept is getting put on a blacklist
It is oh so easy to think of the eventual loss of physical currency as a sign of technological progress. Just a sign of the times and out advancement past this vestige of the past. This is true to some extent. Yet, I would argue cash has an almost intrinsic value that is actually necessary for modern society, now more than ever. How so? Well, you need to look at the bigger geopolitical world view to get an idea of what losing cash as an option means.
Before I do that, let me cover why the article needs to be written about cash and its impending demise in the first place. What is going on with cash? First, you need to have recognized a little thing called inflation, the increase of currency into circulation. If you are American, for example, your government loves to tell you that inflation is a mere 2% per year and often less than that. Doesn’t that sound lovely? They have this economy thing all under control, right? Perianne Boring wrote an excellent article for Forbes regarding what the real rate of inflation is versus the company line your government feeds you. More like 5%, and rising, is where it’s at, and that was a couple of years ago. If you have shopped for beef, or cars, or anything else the government takes out of their CPI measures, you know what I’m talking about. “Quantitative Easing” is another measure used by a government that has the net effect of increasing inflation, the actual money supply in an economy. The European Union has learned this trick from the United States, and they are in the process of debasing their currency with it as we speak. A lot of the inflation increase is due to economic pyramid schemes like Quantitative Easing. This has been going on for many years now, and taxpayers pay the bill while central bankers reap the rewards. It’s a good system, as long as you are a banker or in government, and aren’t a peasant.
Now, with an estimated 5% inflation per year and as your economic foundation, destroying the currency’s value on a daily basis, what if you wanted to phase out cash altogether? Many people do not know that in almost all modern civilizations, over 90% of all economic transfers are done digitally, not in common “cash” currency. You may spend $10-20 USD in cash on occasion, but your bank or your military sends one hundred million as a wire transfer. You are using debit cards, credit cards, Paypal, and new tools like Bitcoin and Apple Pay for the vast majority of your bill paying and daily purchases. So is cash just an outdated option, like the newspaper is for your search for news? Maybe it is time to retire cash?
One party that loves the idea, which should be a huge red flag, is your central banker. All of the sudden, besides the inflation and “Quantitative easing” killing dollar value from the inside, banks are working with regulators to make cashl less convenient to use. Creating an atmosphere where it will be phased out, banned by regulation. There are three recent attacks on cash that should tell you something is up.
Negative Interest Rates
Now that the Keynesian economists have tried and failed at stimulating the economy with 0% central banking interest rates, the European Union is phasing in negative interests rates. You may have noticed over the past several years you have received almost no interest on your money in the bank. Now, you can look forward to paying to keep your cash in a bank account, on top of monthly fees, transaction fees, ATM fees and other banking hustles you already endure.
Citigroup’s economic czar Willem Buiter has a plan that should help the situation, at least if you are a bank. If you are smart enough to hold onto your cash, and not fall prey to the bank’s games of charging you for bank deposits, this is bad for central banking. You may learn that you do not need them or are not beholden to them to live a full life. This realization may destabilize the economy as a whole, or at least their part in it. To prevent this, you can be punished in three new and exciting ways.
- Tax Currency
- Abolish Currency
- Remove the fixed exchange rate between currency and central bank reserves
The details would only serve to confuse the issue, but the point is central banking cartels have an idea on how to begin to get cash banned or taxed. Saying central bankers have influence over economic policy and regulation is like saying the Block Chain has influence over the Bitcoin ecosystem. If the banking elite is beginning to throw around words like “abolish” or “ban” currency, you might want to start listening up. Economic regulations can make you either unable to get it or not want to deal with it due to regulation, inflation and taxation within a matter of months. The benefits of this, we’ll cover in a moment.
Cash is used by terrorists, so…..
Governments hide behind the word “terrorism” more than bitcoin exchanges hide behind the word “hacked“. If a government wants to do anything to their citizens, just say the word “terrorism”, and they can do anything, starting with taking away your freedoms. It’s a playbook well-used and highly effective, if highly deceptive, at a minimum.
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin looks to beta-test a ban on cash to fight terrorism. How brave of him! This is in response to the Charlie Hebdo office attack that killed 17 people in January, allegedly by Islam extremists, partially funded by cash. Still, many critics say “a false flag” to create policy, like 9/11 and Sandy Hook. The alleged attackers used cars, watches and shoes as well, but no ban was announced on their future use in France.
“It’s a terrorism that is low cost to carry out but has a major impact,” Sapin told a news conference. “This low-cost terrorism feeds on fraud, money laundering and petty trafficking,” said Michel Sapin at a recent press conference.
So in response, France will begin to over-regulate cash with the following measures, to stop “terrorism”:
- Prohibiting French residents from making cash payments of more than 1,000euros, down (From 3,000 euros.)
- The limit for foreign tourists on currency payments will remain higher, at 10,000 euros down from the current limit of 15,000 euros. (Tourism is important to France. Economic freedom for citizens not so much.)
- French residents will have to show an identity card to convert any currency above 1,000 euros, down from 8,000.
- Any cash deposit or withdrawal of more than 10,000 euros during a single month will be reported to Traffic, the French anti-money laundering agency.
- French authorities must be notified of any freight transfers within the EU exceeding 10,000 euros, including checks, pre-paid cards, or gold.
So France is testing the patience of its citizens, and how they will live without cash in this phase-out. Do you think the rest of the world’s nations are watching how this progresses? I think so too.
JP Morgan Chase launches its own cash attack
JP Morgan Chase bank has been working many capital controls into its portfolio over the last 18 months, from restricting international transfers to $50,000 USD back in 2013 to the latest one. A letter has been sent out to safety-deposit box owners with the following provision for its use:
“Contents of the box: You agree not to store any cash or coins other than those found to have a collectible value.”
Did anyone else see Casino with Robert DeNiro? What good is a safe deposit box if you can’t stash emergency cash inside of it? Banks know that is a major use of these boxes, since they have a million cameras on you, they know what you’re doing. That’s no secret. This is a major affront to the convenience and viability of cash going forward, when the nation’s largest bank outlaws cash use in safe deposit boxes. This is a step in a dark direction.
So what does all this mean? Why attack cash in the first place? Well, cash is a revenue stream that gives people a way to avoid direct taxation or tracking of transactions. It is also a check and balance against government legislating every purchase into an NSA database somewhere. Let’s say cash disappeared tomorrow, and every transaction was in some digital form, moving US Dollars between accounts. All those accounts, to your bank, PayPal, to your local store, can all be kept in a database. They can all be tracked back to you by a government. They can all be stolen by hackers and identity thieves. They can all be sold to 3rd party marketers as a list. They can be used to learn what you use most, and adjust taxes, interest, and usage fees accordingly. And, obviously your privacy, or what’s left of it, is commandeered by your card issuing bank, government, and anyone with advanced computer knowledge.
You are at the mercy of anyone with computer access or an agenda. And banks/the government get complete control over your privacy, your accounts, and your access. Everything becomes centralized onto banking/government servers. If that’s what you want, this road is leading to Providence. I am guessing this might not be what you want, and you may want more options on how you manage your finances. Tie this together with government monitoring of emails, phone calls, Facebook, and regulation of the Internet by the FCC, and it all becomes quite a web of centralized control. The end game may be the ultimate in computerized control. Control of you. I’m going to guess you may not want that either.
Is anything imminent? No. All I’m doing is relaying the foundation for economic change, potentially worldwide. You can ignore the signs of change, but that is a choice. Better to be forewarned, I say. Is this all one big international coincidence? If that’s what helps you sleep at night, but I’m going to vote no on that. Something is going on here.
Too many very influential bankers saying negative things about cash and its use is a bad sign. If bankers outlaw cash, and you are forced onto your bank-owned debit card for everything, imagine the fees, privacy issues, and potential for blackmail that would ensue? Banks have shown themselves to be so responsible and trustworthy over the last few years.
So what about Bitcoin?
So what does this macroeconomic update have to do with the Bitcoin community? Well, when cash is banned, this should naturally cause some mainstream migration into Bitcoin for the freedom it affords to the government/bankster’s total economic control. Thus, the demand will increase, and supply of Bitcoin is designed to decrease over time. This will cause the value of Bitcoin to rise in relation to the speed of the banning of cash, at least initially. That is until these regulatory forces decide to use their most clever catchphrase against Bitcoin.
No proof, transparency, or vote needed. A government dictatorial decree can change the economic fortunes of a nation. You don’t vote on wars, banker bailouts, or upcoming regulations like BitLicense, that affect your freedoms and civil liberties, so why do you need a choice in how you spend your income? Can’t you hear it now?
“Bitcoin is being used by “terrorists,” so we are employing the following security measures to protect our citizens from “terrorists”…..”
That always works out for you, doesn’t it?
Images provided by Shutterstock and Wikimedia. Zero Hedge and Reuters contributed to this article.
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