Suddenly central bankers want to reach right into your wallet, follow you around, nudge your every decision, or just stop you spending your dollars less wisely than the average bureaucrat thinks you should. These are the same people who *know* you should be saving the Earth by eating crickets.
This is a great essay, part fiction, part nightmare, but already knocking on our doors. A Central Bank Digital Currency (or CBDC) is your digital ID card and social credit score wrapped into one and actioned with instant bank-freezing potential, honk, honk.
Imagine living off food-stamps.
Just Say No to CBDCs says N.S.Lyons
You wave your phone at the pump. Nothing happens. You try again. Your phone buzzes, and you look at it. There’s a message from the Fed: “You have already spent more than the $400 maximum weekly limit on fossil fuels specified in the FedWallet User Agreement. Your remaining account balance cannot be used to purchase non-renewable energy resources. Please make an alternative purchase. Have you considered a clean, affordable New Energy Vehicle? Thank you for doing your part to build a more just and sustainable world!”
You have in fact considered purchasing a clean, affordable New Energy Vehicle. But they still aren’t very affordable for you, what with the supply chain shortages. Despite the instant credit the Fed would add to your balance when buying an electric car – plus the permanent ten percent general subsidy you automatically receive on every purchase as a BIPOC individual thanks to the Fed’s Reparations Alternatives for Comprehensive Equity (RACE) program – the down payment on a new car would still be more than you can afford, even with your new stimmie coins.
Well, you’re not going to be able to make it to work at the warehouse on what you have in the tank. How could you be so foolish? You’re going to have no choice but to park here and blow a bunch of money on hailing one of those sleek, incredibly expensive self-driving electric cabs…
Dystopia is at the garden gate:
But no, you’re actually reading Politico, and see with horror that President Biden has just released a “sweeping” executive order directing the government to immediately begin moving to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies while developing a digital dollar issued by the Federal Reserve.
A central bank crypto would bring massive new powers to central bankers, what’s not to like (if you are a central banker)?
Over the last several years, one central bank after another has released reports on what that might look like. As a summary report by the BIS recently put it, “Central banks’ interest in CBDC has increased as a potential means of delivering their public policy objectives,” while allowing them “to evolve in step with the wider digitalisation of people’s day-to-day lives.” Plus, “Profound, ongoing changes across finance, technology and society, as well as the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, provide additional impetus” for doing so now while there seems to be the opportunity for some kind of reset, or something.
And so eight of the largest central banks (including the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of Canada, among others) have decided to form a tentative consortium, with guidance from BIS, in order to “enable interoperability and cross-border transactions between [their] domestic CBDCs” as they move forward with development.
I didn’t know central banks had “public policy objectives”, I mean apart from supposedly keeping currencies stable and inflation under control. Who elected them?
World’s Reserve Currency up for grabs?
But it’s suddenly urgent now because the US is the worlds reserve currency, but that could disappear in five minutes as Russia gets canceled and forced into bed with China, and China is already road-testing a Digital Yuan. Thanks to Justin Trudeau freezing the $10-Trucker-donors to hell — everyone now knows just how insecure all western currencies are. And Joe Biden’s cancellation of Russian oligarchs suddenly means the whole world is reconsidering what “trust” means.
Where the USD was trustworthy, everyone now knows the rule of law means nothing if you are a political enemy.
In banking, trust means everything. That bit of useless paper called a dollar is just an IOU. We all trust that it will be worth something next week.
Trust is the difference between business-as-usual or a bank run and the overnight collapse of the currency.
Would you like money with an expiry date?
We The People have continually thwarted central bankers by saving money when they were supposed to spend. But a new digital currency means the government can decide if you should save:
When word first arrived that the People’s Bank of China “has tested expiration dates to encourage users to spend it quickly, for times when the economy needs a jump start,” Western monetary policymakers – who struggled for years to use negative interest rates to stop people from saving – probably spat coffee-flavored milk beverage all over their monitors. But that is still pretty midwit-level creative thinking.
There are so many micro-control possibilities – -central bankers could change the price of everything based on your identity. Are you the kind of person supporting LGBT small businesses? Give yourself a bonus. “Thanks for supporting diversity”.
It’s that bad…
The implementation of a CBDC could represent the single greatest expansion of totalitarian power in human history. Never has there been any regime with such omnipotent insight into and control over its people’s every transaction as what CBDCs may soon make possible.
h/t David E
Image: TheSimmer0
It’s the Great Return to the Age of Barter! of the ‘black market’. Don’t forget that ‘public authorities’ have family that has family and friends. And, those or those who collaborate with the dictatorship in place will have to hide well!
300
I’ve been using Credit and Debit Cards for about 30-40 years…less and less cash in hand. Meanwhile I’ve been paid….and I have paid…wages / salary /invoices etc etc on-line for decades too.
Maybe I’m one of the very few on Jo’s blog who hardly uses non-digital currency these days, so I’m quite comfortable with digital money ALREADY. What’s the big deal exactly?
BTW: My CC statement has always shown exactly where I spent my dough. My mobile bills show where I was when making calls, etc etc. I am ALREADY tracked most of the time.
2nd BTW: Before all was digital, old-fashioned paper cheques, and Travellers’ Cheques let the banks and American Express, Thomas Cook etc know where I was, and what I was buying. Am I the only one who suffered this shameful surveillance culture?
423
There will be no problem with your credit and ability to function provided that you comply with ALL directives issued by those who have your best interests at heart. You will be told what that entails ; you need only comply .
And of course “objectionable utterances” are already a crime. Guilty until proven innocent.
Good luck with that one.
360
farmerbraun and mobihci. I guess what I’m getting at is that all these nefarious things can be done by Govt or banks already. Also
Crypto has always been a “con” in that you need an exchange (or a broker) to deal on or with. These can easily be disabled by govt or Service Providers. Leaving your cryptos at the exchange, or else taking it “away” in a hot or cold wallet…the same problem.
Still can’t see any major differences with digital only.
24
crypto still can be traded anonymously, but the governments are basically going to make it illegal to. eventually it will be regulated out of use. even with non complying countries allowing trading etc, inside complying countries they will ban the use of those non compliant currencies. it is still a little way off, but it will happen.
digital only is just another step in control over people. looking at Canada, the nefarious things being done by government and banks were done on the pretense of a national emergency so they can bypass the law, and this will become the norm. governments around the world, including Australia, are breaking their own laws/treaties at the moment and they will continue to do so. imagine what would have happened in Canada in a world with only digital currency and no crypto.
140
Mr. Yunupingu: The big deal is, you’ve moved to digital by your own choice. If your local board of lefty enforcers decides that you are operating with too few employees and your digital payroll will be increased to pay three new employees of their choosing. As of now, you have a place to hide and can move there (cash). If the gov’t gives you no choice, you will have three new relatives of the Mayor on your payroll. Sure hope they don’t pass bad habits to your valued employees.
I’m glad you don’t see this, it means you’ve not had to deal with local gov’t types too much. You don’t want to find out!
50
🙂 🙂
10
“What’s the big deal exactly?”
government
currently what you do with your money is between you and your bank/provider and who that provider sells that information to (if you let them). laws exist for privacy. if law enforcement or government requires data, it can apply to gain access to it. if you look at what happened recently in Canada, you can see the future of all world governments, Australia included. consider that one day you might fall afoul with one of the government edicts and have done something like previously donated $10 to some perfectly legal protest. there was no legal test to access your information and the government tells the banks to freeze your accounts.
crypto (and to an extent cash) offered a way to store your assets where they cannot be touched, and thus goverment regulation was inevitable in the name of anti-terror, organised crime etc. it already has been regulated to an extent here in Australia, all you have to do is read the agreements when buying some.
I dont think governments are truly interested in using crypto as a tool for control because it comes with technical issues that would make it slow and lack the ability to devalue it by merely ‘printing’ more, but anyway why would they when the level of control shown by Canada. what is more likely is that they will try to destroy crypto through regulation.
50
Barter sounds good about now
A huge “outside of their system” parallel economy will spring up, that is pro-freedom.
30
Sure, but make no mistake the world of barter is very inefficient, and if we are reduced to that we give up our time, many choices and many efficiencies of scale.
Better to fight for a fair currency while we still can.
60
I believe that the usual conspiracy theorists do not think before complaining, GST was introduced to collect a tax of 10% on all purchases of goods and services meaning even black economy cash transaction tax avoiders at least paid some contribution to tax revenue.
The black economy is of course the hidden economy of transactions in cash that are not accounted for in tax returns, it has been estimated that the black economy is many billions of dollars a financial year and could be from 50% upwards of the accounted and tax paid economy. Consider the very expensive city properties, marinas full of expensive boats, expensive luxury cars, overseas travel and much more and ask how so many Australians can afford these things, that high standard of living. It doesn’t seem to match the published income tax brackets and income tax paid.
Indeed, in recent years the ATO has successfully pursued Australians who live off company credit cards issued overseas to private companies in tax havens.
Our banking accounting details are already recorded, honest Australians have a Tax File Number and lodge income and private company tax returns, and declare public company dividends on their shares. And many or most use internet banking facilities, bank accounts and ATMs. And like me have a Debit Cards and a Credit Card.
What is wrong with paying with a Debit or Credit Card rather than cash transactions and especially knowing that most tax evaders can no longer avoid paying their fair share of all taxes?
Australia is an expensive country to govern and provide infrastructure and services, the people are spread out over long distances, and tax revenue pays for the government support we mostly all have to access, the exceptions being remote areas. The more tax revenue collected the less we need to pay as individuals.
I am fed up with high wealth individuals who are also avoiding paying tax taking advantage of what the rest of us pay for.
111
Take out a few carefully selected NBN terminals,they are above ground and easily accessed , and the whole country comes to a grinding halt.
10
How did the country survive before the internet?
I have pointed out that when credit first and later debit cards were introduced merchants had franking machines that could fit into a handbag, card placed on top of paper records, buyer copy, business copy and banker copy.
So with a cashless system and using debit cards (and credit cards) if the system goes down businesses including sole traders use their banker supplied franking machine.
10
But all the reconciliations for the days trading STILL has to be sent to head office at close of business daily. There used to be a regular series of fast light aircraft used to deliver each banks regional trading for the day back to the Central office for updating, and returned to the regional branch before they could open for trading the next day,if the flight was late. the bank opened late.The pilots on the Bankair flights will remember the pressures to meet strict departure and arrival timetables , as will the engineers maintaining them.
20
Back in the past [don’t recall the year] Cyprus raided the savings accounts on that islands banks to pay for the country’s debt. Now, think about the US being able to access and deplete any and all accounts by x% without any effort other than the press of a computer key. And think of the intended consequences of government control … they can make you a pauper with a flip of the switch. I know this sounds simplistic and naive, but it is in no way inclusive.
20
Cypriots had their close bank haircuts thanks to forces outside the island. We have a friend who lost a huge amount; so did others we know of. It was a disgusting thing to do to the island.
Cyprus is one of our favourite places and I do hope we can visit again before we end our days on this beautiful but beknighted planet.
20
The Cypriots were a trial run before the same was applied to other countries in the EU.
20
MY, like so many you are confusing digital transactions handling a fiat currency with an actual digital currency.
00
I use mostly digital money. However, the “big deal” alluded to in Jo’s article is currency programming situations like this article
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/06/21/bank-england-tells-ministers-intervene-digital-currency-programming/
10
You obviously haven’t thought this through have you?How are you going to spend your E Dollars if the banks or our betters(sic)stop you from accessing your money?You will be well and truly screwed(ask the Canadians about it)With cash it’s hard for our betters(sic)to stop you.
00
The Cashless Society Fairy Tale: Faith in the State
Gary North
We customers voluntarily moved to a 98% cashless society a generation ago, and our liberty has increased.
All over the West, as well as in Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, currency has disappeared. This is not the work of some international government. There is none. It is the result of the voluntary decisions of the vast majority of citizens in the West. Credit cards are cheap for bankers and also for customers.
There are money-back guarantees in our society. Consumers demand this. Digital money lets customers prove that they paid for some item.
Digital money has given us enormous liberty. Voluntarism has given us digital money.
18
Over the decades, more and more people realized that a metal nose-ring is beautiful and fashionable. You can signal your wealth and status through your selection of various precious metals for the ring. From a small group of fashionistas, nose-ring wearing is now the norm for 98% of society.
But one day, the government came out and clipped chains to our rings, and suddenly it didn’t seem like such a good idea . . .
100
What Is Money? Part 2: Precious Metal Coinage
By Gary North
The case for precious metal coinage as the best form of money arises from two things: first, an understanding of how money developed in the past; second, an understanding of economic theory.
The case for a precious metals coinage is the case for historical continuity. Individuals in the past voluntarily adopted gold and silver coins as the preferred commodities to facilitate economic exchange. They did not accept these two metals as the preferred monetary units because of their commitment to economic theory. They chose those metals because there are advantages offered by these metals that competing commodities do not possess to the same degree. The main advantage is continuity of value (price) over time.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2009/10/gary-north/precious-metal-coinage/
00
Max, you are confusing digital transactions with a digital currency.
10
Digital will be the province of the elite.
The rest of us will be forced into a barter economy.
It’s part of Neo Feudal plan.
Here in America, LA and NYC are already half there.
In LA. theft under $950 is not a crime, so when folk walk into stores and fill trash bags, it’s their version of drawing cash from an ATM.
340
Honk
How does that work ? Does it mean you can go shoplifting at will every day and provided you don’t get greedy nothing will happen to you? There must surely be some retribution.
180
The retribution is the stores go out of business.\
But woke, defund the police is double plus good
190
Or just close down as many have and so a convenience store is no longer conveniently situated. The shoplifters have a short term win but the community have a long term loss.
20
There are a lot of videos showing people filling up garbage bags with stuff, and no one stopping them. the security guards are apparently not allowed to touch, or stop anyone, as this would be “assault”.
I think, to be annoyingly pedantic, it’s not legal, but it was announced that the chances of prosecution would be extremely small.
The theory is that if you steal from large chains, it’s a “victimless crime” because they are insured. in practice, obviously, this is not the case if one has a functioning brain.
320
Barter is still subject to taxation , because it is the supply of goods and services. You won’t get out of it that easily. And then there’s Fringe Benefit Tax , even if you do avoid the GST.
25
That’s correct. Even if you buy a worn out toaster at a yard sale for $3, the seller will have to record the sale and charge sales tax, as well as record it as income at tax time.
In addition, the government will have a record of your purchase including the date and where you bought the $3 toaster.
Never go to a cashless society, like ever.
30
Much more likely that if you spent $400 filling your tank that a message is sent to a troll farm to have a conversation on social media about your wanton flooding of Lismore, and another about your erectile dysfunction.
70
Then of course, in South East Queensland, & probably every where, it only takes a bit of rain for the whole system to go down so you can’t use your the money you have in the bank anyway.
I was a bit lucky a few days ago. I was going to fill the car, & who carries enough cash to do that at today’s prices. Fortunately I went to the chemist first, where I found the whole system was down. I had enough cash for the medicines in my wallet, but not enough for the $120 of fuel I would have put in the car.
I most certainly will be voting against anyone who wants to digitise our money.
180
Was discussing this here recently…how Cyclone Debbie put the electricity out, and all Credit Cards etc off-line, for a week in 2017…
Keeping a coupla hundred in cash makes sense…except of course that the pricing, and payments themselves, often also rely on electricity. How the chick at Woolies will know what the items cost without a functioning scanner operating …or how the petrol will get out of the bowser into the car’s fuel tank is anybody’s guess!
Solution: Do not cut it too fine with anything.
80
But what makes you think that you’re going to be allowed an ICE vehicle anyway , let alone the fossil fuel to keep it running?
You’re dreaming 🙂
80
Farmer. Which reminds me….following TC Debbie, the FREE charging stations at the beach in Bowen, Cannonvale and Airlie were all NOT charging. They were STILL free though.
70
I believe Woolies have standby generators to run their store computers and cash registers. The branch that I serviced had two generators and as long as the fuel tanks were full and no control issues they kick in automatically.
40
What are woolies going to use as standby generators after 2025?
This is an excerpt from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/
Thursday, 12 November 2020: “Woolworths Group will power its entire operations with renewable electricity by 2025, on the road to net positive carbon emissions by at least 2050.
The ambitious power pledge is part of the retail group’s newly announced Sustainability Plan, which charts its path to 2025.”
The only way they can achieve that goal is to sever their connection to the grid.
Good luck with that plan woolworths. You are going to need it.
60
When credit cards were first introduced, and later debit cards, businesses used a small franking machine that a card was placed onto and a paper slip with copies and an imprint taken, copy for buyer, copy for business and copy for bankers.
It would not be difficult to issue this paper accounting system again for emergencies.
10
All this is going to do is increase dramatically the divide between the rich and the rest so much there will have to be much harsher restrictions of movement and freedoms to take care of the increasing hostility to the rich and the governments. The clamp down we’ve experienced during the pandemic is just a dry run.
240
Exactly what people have been trying to tell us for over a year, digital currency and ID legislations being pushed through parliaments will give total control over a huge part of populations everyday life until death.
Scary part is I can see the majority accepting this going by the covid pandemic compliance, I’m not going to live like this so expect me to go offline eventually.
310
[SNIP about a totally off topic sub-thread at #4. Please Don’t! – Jo]
70
“Scary part is I can see the majority accepting this going by the covid pandemic compliance”
I think you have nailed it Yonnie. A mate of mine of almost seventy years went all “covid” on me. If I didn’t comply with QR codes I should be jailed. As soon as the jab became available and mandated if I didn’t take the shot I should be denied all medical assistance (for every potential ailment ) as I was putting his life at risk. I purposely don’t use electronic payment media very frequently, what I buy is my business, not the entire worlds, his view is ‘its convenient”. When I say look at the long term potential of government control, his reply is it will never happen. I think he is wrong.
Now just a little aside. I was working in an industry many years ago that was very keen to introduce those loverly little bar codes that we now see on every object offered for sale. People were absolutely salivating at the thought of what these little innocuous stripes of ink might offer. Specially when they are linked to a credit card at the point of sale. Not only do they know what you have bought, they know how often you buy things and best of all THEY KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. You can then be “targeted ” for advertising material or anything else chosen to tempt you. Now these little printed stripes come with many types of function, read only, like on the can of baked beans, read write that can be supplied with additional info at scanning, read and respond, bar codes that have printed circuitry that can respond to remote readers ( allegedly so, say, a full trolley of goods can just be wheeled past a sensor and every item is scanned simultaneously , flash you card and off you go. All good, except then it starts to be really invasive. Talks of a vehicle being able to drive down any street and instantly know what every bar coded item was inside every house, you know, for your own good. Then of course the opportunity for non conforming citizens to be “penalised” for doing the wrong thing. The example, a chocolate wrapper is found blowing down the street, its picked up by a ‘compliance officer and the bar code scanned, linked back to a credit card and low and behold a littering fine appears in the mail.
All far fetched you say, well no. all talked about in the “70s’. Some funtions were not pursued because of privacy laws etc. Where are we at today, dunno, I’ve been retired for decades. Do I “play with the man” not bloody likely. I pay cash or I go without.
130
The “clampdown” was State Emergency Powers based on State legislation passed by State Parliaments.
The former British Colonies were self governing by Colonial Governments and when they came together to agree to a Federation of States to form the Commonwealth of Australia the States also formed the Federal Government.
Colonial-State Governments’ powers and areas of responsibility were mostly retained and the Federal Government handed national and International affairs matters to deal with on behalf of all of the State Governments. There are of course constitutional laws, for example a State Government cannot legislate and enter into a Federal Government area of responsibility and if one did the Federal Government position would take precedence. Federal cannot enter into State areas of responsibility. It is a complicated situation and at times has been contested in the High Court of Australia. For example closure of interstate borders for pandemic purposes, constitutional law appears to not allow this but a WA Court and then the High Court decided closure under the circumstances was permitted.
20
Here in Trudeaupia I have a bunch of accounts with one of the 5 major banks, and also an account with a local credit union.
As a small donor to the Freedom Convoy I lost some sleep over the direct threats by our PM and deputy PM that my accounts would be frozen due to my unacceptable actions. But then everything seemed fine and I got back on my usual even keel.
Then this week a regular monthly wire transfer was scheduled to be auto-deposited to my Line of Credit, a transfer that has been working flawlessly from the same third party for several years. The incoming transfer was rejected, and the notification I received told me to contact my financial institution.
After a 30 minute wait I spoke to an agent on the phone and explained the situation. The agent had no information about any problems with my LoC account and no reason why a transfer would be rejected. The best he could do was say “switch the autodeposit to a different account”. I did that. The transfer then went through.
All my alarm bells are now ringing, including the alarm bell associated with trying to get the same institution that has the power to freeze my bank accounts, to explain to me why something they control stopped working, but my quick fix did work.
When the government has unlimited power and no accountability, we are all in trouble. And the banks in Canada are explicitly shielded from any recourse or complaint by any wrong-thinking account holders.
That’s bad enough. Now give that power to a government CBDC monopoly staffed by faceless functionaries whose prime incentive is to not draw the ire of their supervisors.
Never, ever underestimate the power of a government to make things worse “for the benefit of our democracy”.
Honk honk. Also, keep preparing; the totalitarian momentum will carry our naive and trusting society a surprising distance into the septic fields ahead.
420
I see accounts are still frozen even though the act has been revoked
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/rcmp-stand-by-the-freezing-of-bank-accounts-without-court-order/
Truly scary that the govt can decide that if you support the wrong cause you can have your money confiscated. Also that fundinglatfprms can decide that those wanting to send their money to a particular cause can have that money diverted elsewhere if, again, the cause is deemed wrong.
220
That’s a scary story Double on Tundra.
The message Trudeau is sending is that no bank is safe. These people have no idea how fast the banking system could crumble if everyone tried to get their money out.
In China everyone knows the government can and will steal it all, so they go to the West and buy up property here as a hedge against inflation.
But where do we in the West go…
40
I was unaware that the Chicomms had looked at an expiry date on currency. It has already been proposed in Australia already.
As has putting chips in currency notes to enable them to be tracked.
You can see who Australia is getting its ideas from (the Chicomms). The person who suggested the currency chips was an advisor for Julia Gilliard who was the first Australian person to become PM to fufill a gender quota.
‘Gone mad’: Economist floats ‘crazy’ idea of cash with expiry dates
Jessica Yun
11 March 2020
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/kouk-cash-expiry-date-193613323.html
Australia’s $100 notes to be tracked to help fight organised crime and cash-for-work economy
AUSTRALIA’S disappearing $100 notes, many hoarded under the beds of pensioners and stockpiled in China, would be tracked by a hi-tech nano-chip under a plan to crack down on the black economy.
Renee Viellaris
July 4, 2017
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/australias-100-notes-to-be-tracked-to-help-fight-organised-crime-and-cashforwork-economy/news-story/553e15422d936b84ba3044255e9f7e89?amp=&nk=5d6a71d9f0f982c43ced8568735b8f05-1647113656
160
They got rid of the 500 euro note in 2016-ish, supposedly to crack down on organised crime. Having said that, even in an expensive city like Paris, a 50 euro note is still a real annoyance for most places to deal with. I did see a 200 euro note get used by a tourist, and this caused confusion because of the size, and the language barrier. I guess the float in the average till is just not very much these days.
Now, just about everywhere prefers cards, even for very small transactions, like buying a baguette for 80cents. It’s also still possible to pay by cheque at supermarkets etc, as well, but becoming increasingly more restricted.
130
Expiration dates on currency just means everyone will be looking to buy something (hopefully of enduring value) before their currency expires. This increases the velocity of money. If total supply doesn’t increase, higher velocity results in higher prices. It’s an interesting tool for Central Bankers since they don’t currently have a way to manage velocity directly, but it doesn’t provide a way to manage the real economy, just the velocity/price trade-off. MV = PQ and all that.
71
” higher velocity results in higher prices.”
Well, buying more shit could result in lower prices as factories scale up.. Either way, Govt don’t care, what they see is “higher velocity results in more TAX”.
They have no need for people to save at all, banks get money to lend out from a central bank, not from depositors.
Along with the general collapse of the white people’s world in the next decade will be the realisation that Keynes was a clown, and we have followed a monetary theory that enriched a few at the expense of the rest of us.
I imagine one of the first laws after the issuing of a digital currency will be to ban any physical means of transferring wealth, or we would all end up using metal tokens issued by local businesses like we used to.
50
This is a well known strategy now.
It’s total BS that it’s to fight organised crime.
Does anyone really think organised crime operates in the “Miami Vice, suitcases full of money in a speedboat off the coast” way?
It’s laughable, and insulting to the public that the government thinks we’d believe it.
Organised crime uses bank transfers, crypto, tax havens etc just like big businesses do because that’s what they are!
In reality it’s all about phasing out the currency to go digital.
170
Only Miami Vice and the ALP work this way with Aldi bags full of cash.
80
With money printing and the resulting unstoppable trickle down into price inflation, you effectively already have an expiry date on money.
I have some Zimbabwe bills that do literally have an expiry date printed on the notes … but they were practically worthless even before that date passed.
110
Does anyone believe bureaucrats and their politicians actually use $100 notes?
120
The Left love this.
Every single aspect of your life will be traced and tracked and controlled.
Exceeded your monthly quota of 28g / 1oz of red meat? No problem. That transaction will be refused but instead you’ll be offered 1kg / 2.2lb of “environmentally friendly and sustainable” cockroaches (since the UN wants we Deplorable to eat “insect protein” instead of meat).
The Elites will continue to eat steaks and fly their private jets, of course.
160
The neo-conservatives love it too as they too will join the left and the elite to eat steaks and do the rest while the rest of us get sucked dry.
80
Please consider life in Australia ….
* Births, Deaths and Marriages registered with personal details.
* Medicare Number and file.
* Tax File Number and file.
* Driving Licence file.
* Vehicle registration file.
* Passport record and file.
* Property purchases and ownership files.
* Bank records.
* Military Service records, if any.
* Electoral Roll records.
* Property owner’s Local Council records.
and other government record files Local, State and Federal.
50
Dennis, but as long as all those databases are run by separate departments and it takes a warrant to get the info, there is a layer of protection and privacy.
One can screw up without taking all the others out. Once a digital ID combines them all, the punishment can be totalitarian. And yes, we are close to that. But cash payments still provide true anonymity and many escape routes. People may rarely use cash, but if it’s gone and there is only one digital ID, there will only be 100% compliance with every tiny clause or the inefficient, time-consuming “off grid” world of barter.
How much poorer will we all be…
50
Here in the UK many shops only wanted cards for purchases even small ones, perhaps believing it was a free service
I suppose the more you go back to using cash the longer this takeover using digital currency I.e your various credit cards and bank accounts, will getv delayed. We have certainly started using cash wherever possible and don’t bank online at all now. Too many scams and hacks for my liking.
160
Here is an account of 8 countries seeking to cooperate in setting up digital Id’s . I note that Australia is in the chair. Whilst this was related originally to covid passes it seems to have acquired a life of its own. A short step to integrating this with finance and various aspects of our lives
https://www.globalgovernmentforum.com/eight-countries-set-out-principles-for-the-future-of-digital-id/
We don’t have Id cards over here in the UK so such a move would be hugely controversial. I don’t know the situation in Oz
150
the subject of ID cards has always puzzled me a bit because now 99.9% of people carry something that can be used as an official ID. When I became a citizen of a European country, I have an associated card which is a literal ID card. When I was a visa holder, I had an ID card. the card itself doesn’t mean much any more, its about how the system can be (ab)used.
In Australia, the “mygov” system links everything together, tax, healthcare, social security, etc, anyway, so this is, as far as I can tell, a fait accompli. Police cars scan numberplates and automatically check both registration and licensing, and presumably outstanding warrants too, so that’s all well linked.
Do I like any of this? no, but it has been done “for your convenience”, and I dont see it ever being undone, just increased, or used in more creative ways to isolate those who think the “wrong” way – for our protection, of course.
The concern is with being asked to prove who you are, and to record everything you do and everywhere you go. this is what bugged me about the COVID rules in France, waiters and shopkeepers were/are held accountable for checking ID, this is wrong on many different levels.
The rabid and excessive censorship and financial restrictions put on Russia, or more correctly, the Russian people, is a prime example of what will happen to individuals more and more in the future, if they dare to say the wrong thing, buy the wrong product, or look at the wrong websites. High profile people in the UK and US have been effectively banned from banking services because of their political opinions.
180
In Australia the My Health Record — or whatever it is called is automatic. Every medical report or path test goes straight to a central database. There is a tiny checkbox on path tests or medicare forms (I think) where you can tick to NOT be included. How many people even know?
30
Many things that have been happening over the past few years, still happening and new events yet to happen all are being deliberately interwoven into a fabric that will smother what’s left of our rights. This is the first time in it can be carried out given modern technology and the enforcement of a digital currency. It will be key as it will prevent bank runs, such as what happened in Canada recently. No cash, no bank runs. It also will make it easier for governments to coerce people for whatever reason and purpose. Failure to comply means instant loss of ability to buy the essentials of life, such as food. No need to rely solely on police harassments. There will be of course ways around it. Grow your own food. However, not many people will be bothered to do that as by then most people will be in effect zombies thanks to the lying MSM and restrictions over the internet. The vast majority of the people will be in effect robotic slaves taking orders and possibly perpetual vaccines from government, and they will be “happy”. Such an Orwellian dystopia was depicted in George Lucas’ first movie, THX 1138 where people were forced by law to take drugs to suppress many of their desires and were told to be thankful we have commerce. “Buy more. Buy more now. Buy more and be happy.”. (Female voice – medicine cabinet) “If you feel you are not properly sedated, call 348-844 immediately. Failure to do so may result in prosecution for criminal drug evasion.”
181
‘ … the enforcement of a digital currency.’
They won’t enforce it, things go out of fashion. The penny and cent fit the bill perfectly.
14
Think of the profits for the banks and the loss to businesses and the consumer due to the transaction fees on electronic transactions which might be 2% or 3%.
The government will also no doubt require the banks to provide full information to it on consumer profiles such as identifying those bad citizens with excessive meat consumption or fuel usage.
100
C’mon, this has been an issue since the first IOU (or promissory note) was offered and rejected. As barter, how would that work for power, security (armed forces), a vehicle?
222
Promissory notes were used between two people or entities for an agreement to insure a certain amount was held in gold or other commodities, it was never used to trade with anyone and everything, like fiat money digital, bitcoin, crypto is only valued on agreement by the powers that control it, they couldn’t care less about our dealings as long as the market is directed to their ends.
Barter trade was the original currency and fits well with the idea of free people trading as they deem fit while keeping the appointed governments small and out of the way of living under sovereign and natural laws, we can only dream.
171
yonnistone, every store of value, be it a not, actual gold, a surplus of grain is only valuable if the counterparty agrees. no one can be forced to barter for example. What changed since then is summed up in the law of contract – which enforces a trade willing or not.
eg if you go into a shop with a valid means to make a purchase, the transaction must take place.
This is what the post is conflating with crypto. ie that transactions will be discretionary (on the behalf of the seller or the government) This discretionary transaction system is exactly the same as what occurs in barter (or IOU) systems
Crypto, cashless, cash etc are the means of transaction governed by the law of contract
212
I gave you a thumbs up for the reply, yes the contract is the issue especially when you are forced to adhere to its contents to coexist in the system created by the contract holder, this is the issue of free vs controlled markets.
Are you doing any Koala rescues for the floods, or can they survive by keeping above water?, genuine question just wondering.
22
Re Koala rescue, we have move a few, but most have already found higher ground. In this case the rains have spurred lots of new growth, and the koalas are less stressed. That means they are not taking risky travel over roads, or into backyards.
In better news; all our planting over the last few years are thriving
31
Well done.
A number of years ago some group setup a koala reserve on Phillip Island. They planted a whole bunch of trees that would feed the koalas being moved to the reserve. The tree they chose to plant for koala food turned out to be a tree koalas don’t eat.
10
‘ … how would that work …’
Very poorly indeed, we are in the space age and have to move with the times.
There is a huge opportunity with crypto currency, ordinary folk get the chance to invest their spare monies, with the full intention of making a profit. Once they work out the mechanisms, attached to central banks, Australia and China are good bets.
010
You do realize central and reserve banks are a money laundering operation for governments and their masters?
Taking the control from ordinary folk to decide how they handle their investments is game over for any freedoms, can’t you see that?
121
‘ … can’t you see that?’
Super Funds do it and its a tightly regulated market, so I expect nothing less from the Au crypto when it eventually surfaces. The profit is unearned income and will incur a luxury tax.
27
massive collusions in US, Germany, WHO, CDC, World Bank
https://balance10.blogspot.com/2022/03/massive-collusions-in-us-germany-who.html
…………..
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Poroshenko on Putin and Ukraine
https://balance10.blogspot.com/2022/03/poroshenko-on-putin-and-ukraine.html
10
which is the idea behind crypto, or ebay or any trading platform. Crypto provides the trusted third party for the exchange, just like a bank does now
310
Yeah , yeah , trust the Fed ; they’ll look after you. LOL.
80
The Australian Federal Reserve is good to go, but not too sure of our cousins across the gap.
06
you do not have to use the Fed, that is the point of Crypto
15
The unregulated market is built on top of a bottomless pit.
https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/bitcoin-price/bitcoin-price-6-month-usd/
10
Might not be possible one day. Governments can and probably will ban cryptos and anyone caught using them will likely be fined, payment demanded of course in their version of crypto digital currency.
31
In the last week we’ve heard that Tesla cars should be turned off in Russia.
The above article covers not being able to buy fossil fuels, how about being told you cannot drive? What will D Dan do to those who would disable this ‘feature’, would it be a $100k fine or 5 years jail? And with corporations to be impacted to a higher level?
If you can do an update to the software remotely, you can definitely turn the car off. Now who wants a Tesla?
190
A digital currency should be opposed at all costs. Because in the end it completely takes away one’s autonomy. It is 1984 on steroids. There will not be a thing that you can do without big brothers permission.
Of course we have already been well on the way down this road with fiat currencies. It will be the end of capitalism, because there will be a complete disconnect between what is “printed” on the “note” and any physical property. The ability to “print” money and
givelend it to cronies will be unlimited. There will be some very rich people and the rest will be under complete control.210
‘ … It will be the end of capitalism …’
Not exactly, its simply a means of exchange in the digital world, but it could weaken the US dollar and allow other currencies to come to the fore. The yuan is looking promising.
411
O/T but more big brother – DDG etc
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=245392
30
The censorship is cray-cray: https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2022/02/27/vaccination-silencing-doctors-in-the-uk/
30
Just saw this
“If you’d like a search engine that doesn’t try to tell you what to think, consider Presearch dot com.”
20
Brave now set as default search engine on Google Chrome replacing DuckDuckGo – working fine, and Brave Browser good as well
90
A humorous take: https://babylonbee.com/news/nyc-restaurants-now-require-proof-of-ukraine-support
What with the supply chain issues with computer chips, and people trying to save on energy costs by not charging their phones, I can see numerous problems.
Anyone remember, “those aren’t ‘eating’ sardines – they’re ‘trading’ sardines!”
70
It’s all part of The Digital Dehumanisation of Mankind
80
What did Biden get wrong on crypto? His new order threatens to smother innovation.
The Biden administration needs to recognize that the biggest threat to financial stability with regard to cryptocurrency is overregulation.
President Joe Biden released an executive order Wednesday that could curtail opportunities that cryptocurrency provides for economic advancement, notwithstanding the order’s hopeful tone about crypto’s potential to promote efficiency and financial inclusion. Ironically, the order may also introduce new financial risks in the name of preventing them.
The White House fact sheet on the order notes correctly that the rise of cryptocurrency “creates an opportunity to reinforce American leadership in the global financial system and at the technological frontier.”
That cryptocurrency advances American values such as liberty and democracy has been shown by Ukrainian leaders’ and citizens’ creative use of cryptocurrency byproducts like stablecoins and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to raise funds to fight Russian forces and advance a message of freedom.
Pro-democracy movements
Crypto assets have also played an essential role in recent protests in Hong Kong and other pro-democracy movements.
U.S. may issue its own crypto
If the Fed – rather than the private sector – were to issue its own cryptocurrency, the U.S. government would have direct access to the digital ledger that records financial transactions for individuals using that currency. As Paul Jossey, cryptocurrency attorney and adjunct fellow at my organization, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, has written, current “know your customer” rules governing banking “will ensure governments track, record, and identify every or nearly every CBDC transaction.”
60
Actually this is more like a draft script for the Black Mirror episode Nosedive first screened on Netflix in October 2016. Well worth the view given it is such a great example of life imitating fiction. Here are a couple of excerpts to wet your appetite: airport and office.
Once viewed ask yourself again how much you love your mobile phone and social media and how they put YOU in control.
60
Meanwhile in Ukraine, people can get assistance payments IF they’ve been vaxxed AND they have a digital identity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8OP4JMTQJ8&feature=emb_logo
How interesting 😈
101
It’s not just about controlling your spending, it’s total population control. Example…When I’m at the pub, all of the 20, 30 even some oldies pay for all of their alcohol digitally everytime their out. When I tell them that now the government has a permanent history of your drinking habits, they just stare bluntly. You think the “authorities” won’t use that spending information to control how much alcohol, junk food you consume in a day, and what’s worse is,you will pay a premium for medical care if your spending history shows high alcohol, junk foods consumption, welcome to Capitalism with CCP characteristics, enjoy.
162
Ah, the all-seeing World Economic Forum!! Remember when they advised that “you will own nothing, and you will be happy”? What happened was that, in their breathless urgency to meet their press-release deadline, they missed the typo. The release should read, ‘you will know nothing, and you will be happy”!
70
By 2030 you will own nothing.
Because you will be a serf.
If unhappy, refunds will not be available.
110
The Age of Checks and Balances is over.
60
Seems reasonable
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNn2qASXEAYwrZA?format=jpg
30
While everyone is distracted by Ukraine.
Mandatory vaccination, health passports, digital ID and more still alive and well in European Parliament
After June 30, 2022 – The European Council has amended resolution 2361 and no longer objects to compulsory vaccination.
As of July 1, 2022, the EU has announced the legislation for the mandatory EU COVID 19 Certificates that deprive you of all freedoms if you do not have a QR covid certificate. If there is a majority of member states signing the legislation, compulsory vaccination will be introduced!
At the end of 2022/2023 there will be a digital currency.
The EU will impose a digital ID on every EU citizen. (The Dutch already have this and are already referring to the EU version on the DigId.nl website).
All ATMs will be replaced by QR code ATMs in the near future with Belgium already installing them.
If these QR code machines are integrated, cash can no longer be withdrawn from banks or elsewhere.
The EU aims to make cash completely worthless within 1.5 years.
The EU is preparing a climate CO2 quota for every citizen.
Welcome to 1984, the 2022 version.
180
I agree although I would say that the Ukraine issue is not a distraction but part of the agenda in an attempt to fight countries, such as Russia and China who refuse to play along with the net zero emissions nightmare. Make no mistake about it. The West as a whole desires everyone to stop using fossil fuels ASAP. The digital currency push is just one approach of many to bringing that nightmare to reality. Can we stop that push? Of course, through the ballot box but given the fact that most people won’t wake up from their stupor, and how the various election systems are broken or corrupted, I can’t see it being possible but only time will tell. Our turn in Australia is not far away to find out.
100
” In God we trust- all others pay cash”, remember that.
81
Look, it’s all so obvious now and it’s too late to do anything about it unless the whole nation rises up and stops this drive for a digital currency by our despot leaders. We can and undoubtedly will talk about this and other related topics, such as net zero emissions for a long time to come but noting will change. The despot leaders of the world have sufficient power and control already to complete their agenda to gain even more power and control, while at the same time more and more people are becoming dumbed down due mostly by our MSM propaganda and lying politicians to the point of not only ignoring such topics, more and more people actually like what’s proposed. For example, I know of a few people around me who can’t wait for a digital currency because they say it will be fun to use. They are sick and tired of carrying and dealing with cash. Some already have stopped using cash outright. Everything has been and will continue to head in the wrong direction unless something changes dramatically, and that means a civil uprising of some description on a scale much much bigger than say the truckers protest, but that’s not going to happen. I can think of many reasons why it won’t happen. For example, the despot leaders are far more powerful and organised than the people. The leaders have the MSM in their pockets and paid for. The people by and large don’t see the warning signs and will continue to ignore new ones as we go flying past them due to a mind block and a delusion that the future is rosy and good, ye tin fact it’s clearly going to be harsh and evil. Sorry to break it to everyone that way but there comes a time to take off the rose coloured glasses and face reality.
100
‘ … and that means a civil uprising of some description …’
Senior citizens won’t ferment an uprising and civil disobedience would be unlikely to gain traction.
21
The END of ATMs in Australia? Thousands of cash machines are removed across the country as banks go digital
People who love the convenience of paying for everything with a swipe of their phones are building an invisible future prison for themselves.
But they just can’t see it – try telling them.
These are same folks who dutifully got their jabs when told – absolute trust in government is more lethal than any virus.
https://rightsfreedoms.wordpress.com/2022/03/06/the-end-of-atms-in-australia-thousands-of-cash-machines-are-removed-across-the-country-as-banks-go-digital/
140
Yes, that’s what worries me the most; absolute trust in governments. I see it increasing everywhere by “normal” every day people. Long ago people mistrusted governments but were prepared to put up with them because they were mostly benign or mild in their errors. Today it has all changed.
80
Did anyone notice that Twitter creator Jack Dorsey stood down from Twitter last year to start a cryptocurrency banking system?
https://cryptocrunches.com/is-jack-dorsey-the-qualified-face-for-crypto-banking/
That’s amazing, huh? Almost like he knew what Ole Dementia Joe had been convinced by his cancel culture administration ‘advisers’for the Marxist utopia which was once the US Empire!
Funny how the leftwing trashmedia is quiet on the thought of a billionaire tech oligarch controlling banking too!
Would they be if it was Murdoch?
Interesting that it might be Putin who derails the WEF led climate/crypto Marxist utopia!
71
Better add this to the list:
https://ktdi.org/
31
The most important word in the heading was,
“Totalitarian”.
We are destined to be under Total control and have our freedoms “redacted”.
We will not be able to move, sing, talk to others.
We will excel in the new skill; subservience.KK
60
Russia Has Caused A “Monetary Earthquake”, Fiat Currencies Are Going To “Fail Spectacularly”
What just happened in the last two weeks is enormously important and misunderstood by many investors.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the corresponding Western sanctions and seizure of Russian FX reserves are nothing short of a monetary earthquake. The last comparable event was Nixon’s abandonment of the gold standard in 1971.
Russia, with the backing and support of China, just told the world that it is no longer going to sell its oil, gas and wheat for Western currencies which are programmed to debase.
The West in its response just said to all countries around the world: “If you have foreign exchange reserves, held in our system, they are no longer safe if we disagree with your politics.”
70
India Is Mulling Rupee-Ruble Payments System For Trade With Russia
India is discussing how to set up a rupee-ruble payment mechanism to enable it to trade with Russia, to circumvent the U.S. sanctions regime.
Two developments this summer caused India to question the reliability and integrity of the U.S. as an ally.
The first was the manner of the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan, which had External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar wondering about the value of U.S. security guarantees. Washington’s Ukraine policy is only increasing those misgivings. The United States was willing to push Ukraine to take actions that many – including Henry Kissinger, George Kennan, and Noam Chomsky – warned Russia couldn’t abide. But then when the shooting started, the United States wasn’t willing to get in line of fire.
And in the second, in September, the U.S. stunned many when it announced a new Australia/United Kingdom/United States security grouping (AUKUS), as part of which Australia would receive American nuclear submarines. Prior to the new arrangement, the Quad –comprised of the U.S., Australia, India, and Japan – was the principal counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific (see this Council on Foreign Relations summary, The Quad in the Indo-Pacific: What to Know).
This AUKUS announcement caused consternation both in France and India.
The realization of the shakiness of U.S security guarantees means that India is rethinking the state of its relations with China.
Although the two countries have gone to war since Independence, their bilateral relationship has not always been hostile. Now that the value of U.S. security guarantees is being more openly questioned, one option for India is to try and ensure that its bilateral relations with China don’t deteriorate to the point of outright hostility again.
The U.S. led economic sanctions regime against Russia is inevitably porous to some degree. Not all Russian banks have been excluded from SWIFT. Crimping Russia’s ability to spend dollars doesn’t shut off its ability to trade with willing partners. India appears to be one such partner. Despite loud squawking in the U.S. Congress about its failure to support the UN Russia resolution, India appears to be banking that the Biden administration won’t impose sanctions on India
70
India also managed to acquire uranium yellow cake from OZ without being a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Act which was a requirement at the time.
30
Crypto mining uses a lot of energy and China is the beast from the East.
https://jvdriver.com/crypto/uncategorized/mining-maximization-which-countries-thrive-on-bitcoin-mining/
20
Addendum …
“Much of Russian bitcoin mining is powered by domestic natural gas or [hydroelectric power] in Siberia,” Will Foxley of Compass Mining told Decrypt. “It’s unlikely that hashpower goes offline, unless sanctions influence pool providers.” (Decrypt)
10
Jo,
The Chinese Communist Party with their Social Credit technocracy and digital currency big ideas are ‘new kids on the block’. The modern thread in the West goes back further.
The origin of these ‘scientists of social engineering’ first found expression in the 1930s as the following material suggests:
“Technocracy is the science of social engineering, the scientific operation of the entire social mechanism to produce and distribute goods and services to the entire population.”
– – – The Technocrat (1938)
The “technocracy,” . . . developed in the early 1930s as a response to the Great Depression. That movement . . . began with a group of technicians and engineers dedicated to social reform whose concepts were modelled on the technological republic in Edward Bellamy’s late-19th-century utopian novel Looking Backward.
Influenced by the economic theories of Thorstein Veblen and the principles of scientific management growing out of the work of Frederick W. Taylor, . . . suggested, that politicians and industrial entrepreneurs should, and would, give way to technical elites.
– – – The Technocratic Image and the Theory of Technocracy
Author(s): John G. Gunnell . Source: Technology and Culture, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul., 1982), pp. 392-416.
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3104485
The individuals that occupy such positions in a technocracy are known as “technocrats.” An example of a technocrat could be a central banker who is a trained economist and follows a set of rules that apply to empirical data.
– – – Technocracy Definition – Investopedia
https://www.investopedia.com › … › Government & Policy
A + B AND THE BANKERS
“Whatever may be the case in other matters, compromise in arithmetic seems singularly out of place.” – C. H. Douglas
– – – First Published in the New Age, January 22/29, 1925.
https://alor.org/Storage/Library/PDF/Douglas%20CH%20-%20A-B-and-the-Bankers-CH-Douglas-New-Age-1925.pdf
Methinks we are going to have to fight once more for our freedoms. The barbarians are ‘not just at the gate’ – they are in power within!
100
Yes, those who want to make demands on us that go contrary to our rights to the freedoms that were won through many wars over the centuries, are about to be taken away form us completely. Those responsible, directly or not, include people in our own governments as well as others, MSM, education establishments, scientists, doctors, religious leaders, etc..
50
I’ve started calling it ‘Totechnotarianism’.
20
Another serious problem for most countries is the loss of currency, bank notes that are being hoarded including substantial criminal activity proceeds, an example being drug syndicates that have more cash than they can use so they hide it, bury it, take extreme care not to get caught with it.
How do the criminals carry out illegal activities without cash?
30
Easy way to fix that is to say this $100 note is being phased out and if you have any tucked away you will have to come in to your bank and exchange them with the new ones , easy to do.
40
As with exchanges for decimal currency before the cut off date.
30
I failed to add not so easy for black money gained and hoarded from criminal activities.
But after the cut off date the black money would be worthless and countries would adjust their money supply accordingly.
10
I’ve often thought this will be the critical factor ensuring that the political class never allows cash (or some close equivalent) to go away entirely.
50
One way to rid a society of crime is to is to transmute criminality into governance.
It’s evolution.
The most successful criminals rise to the top of the pyramid.
All methods of theft and control are in the hands of the righteous.
And viola, crime is redefined out of existence.
Like ‘vaccines’ and ‘free’ speech.
A similar thing is occurring in my Democrat run US city. The city prosecutor will not prosecute certain crimes
for the goal of ‘equity’. Arrest aren’t made and crime rates go down.
Criticism of this method is bigotry.
BTW, Dr. Iamthescience seems to have disappeared from public view. I certainly hope in remains in good health, you know … for the trial.
Which would likely not be carried out by the traditional authorities.
60
People sometimes write about high wealth individuals as if wealth was a dirty word, I could agree if they referred to the black economy of tax avoidance participants but most are taxpayers, as the late Kerry Packer once lectured a Federal Parliament Senate Committee about, he said tax minimisation is legal as compared to tax avoidance.
I happened to report to a board of directors including a couple who were close to Mr Packer and I listened to their stories after he passed about his generosity, like making his private aircraft available at no charge to pick up and deliver urgently needed body organs, one of many stories about a great man who inherited businesses and wealth and increased the value of those assets.
Many high wealth individuals donate to charity, and donations are tax deductible, but they care and do what they can to help people in need. And they pay income tax, but of course they minimise their tax liability, but remember that the dividends they receive on monies invested in shares are after company tax has been paid on operating profits. And their investments in companies that pay company tax and other taxes, and employ taxpayers. And in various examples such as mining pay resources tax and earn export income for our nation.
The ATO is not asleep, in recent years their investigations revealed that some Australians were living here on credit cards issued overseas by private companies registered in tax havens to avoid taxes other than the GST. Many were caught and charged deemed tax owing plus a fine.
40
Well yes, TRUST.
1. Why do the elected think they have to spend our money in increasingly larger amounts.
2. when consumers spend, and receive “money back” by way of “rewards“, rewards which expire after a period of time, does that encourage spending?
Air miles expire, you get them without choice and so often are almost pointless because they are irredeemable for the minor / casual traveller. So , easy come , easy go. – they become irrelevant to that casual travellers. But then for the Elites, they can feel good about themselves for receiving treats. Pavlov’s doggies then, perhaps ?
When the small guy wants to get on, he has to save when / where he cannot get a Loan. Saving enough for a Deposit is hard enough and takes time. Time runs out independent of who you are. But if you have savings, you are penalised too, as so far most of this Century, Inflation has been higher than Interest rate growth for Safe money ( ie in the Bank). So what to do ? For the price of Hardware washers, you are often cheaper to use the Copper or Silver coins instead, if you can drill the hole. This shows how crazy it’s getting – like the metal content of UK coinage – now mostly magnetic metals – was the coin machines way of instantly detecting washers.
So! going for Crypto currency…. can I do virtual work for someone? Hmm, and I think I’ll pay my VAT returns in virtual ( non ) hard cash – can I do that nowadays?
MAYBE! – we should just sit tight and weather the storm . Maybe – Putin will do us some good – in the long run. for some the mirror will be broken, for others a small chard of mirror will be a great help.
20
“How Did We Miss This?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiY83iWcbcA
20
Most of us are already aware the move is already in progress on the political front for Western governments to become just as ruthless and draconian as the Russian and Chinese governments are. Even though we will most likely still have elections, they will be bogus and/or worthless. Bogus due to the corruption or pointless because voters are “educated” to vote for the major parties who are deceitful. When we have even more deceit from the MSM and governments, there will be little or no hope of the people in general of knowing the truth in matters that count. Today we are surrounded by false leaders, Trudeau being a classic example who care more about their careers than about the health and safety of the people, let alone true democracy. Even our own doctors who we once trusted have told lies about how COVID-19 vaccines are safe and will be good for us, and that alternative treatments are to be avoided when in fact they could have been used to save many lives. Our focus will be more and more to seek the truth in spite of the growing clouds of deceit and lies from all directions. It will be very important when the main storm hits as only the truth will come through unscathed.
70
meant to be a reply to #37.
20
Jo, I would take issue with your very first word ‘suddenly’.
Perhaps suddenly it’s out in the open now they think their plans are too far advanced to be stopped or that the conditions of chaos are sufficient to soften people up. But it is by no means sudden. It has been part of the banking cabal’s plans for a years, probably since they realised in 2008, when collapse of the fiat currency paradigm was narrowly avoided, that the game was finally up and there was a limit to printing money and covering up their thefts. And never mind wanting to reach into our wallets, they have been reaching into our collective wallet since the Fed was created as an independent bank, thanks to JP Morgan et al. That’s a major part of the problem.
50
Suddenly, in this sense, means the PR campaign to sprint to digital money has accellerated. Obviously this was always an appealing option. But now there is a hurry.
Not every parasite necessarily saw in advance that the Russian tanks of six weeks ago meant the starting gun was about to be fired on a digital currency race.
But yes, I agree, the rot has been baked in since the Creature from Jekyll Island.
60
Just looking at the beautiful pastural scene provided on my screen saver, thinking ‘that would be a nice place to be right now’.
Then I realized Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos probably already own it.
We are in dystopian Sci-Fi territory sans the space travel.
80
In Mod … I may have insinuated less the pious respect towards not one, but two, of the Overlords. It was not my intent. I beg forgiveness.
70
Nothing to forgive. The likes of Bill Gates are the one who should be asking for forgiveness.
60
‘Bonds won’t exist in 10 years’: Vimal Gor quits Pendal, joins crypto
Fixed income manager Vimal Gor has quit his post at Pendal Group to join crypto advisory firm Trovio and reckons government bonds will vanish within a decade and be replaced by fundraising through central bank digital currencies.
Mr Gor, who was Pendal’s head of bond, income and defensive strategies, will bring his five-person team across to Trovio, where he will head up its digital asset funds.
He said he had become bored working in traditional debt and currency markets and saw a future where digital currencies issued by central banks would let governments tap pools of liquidity in “decentralised finance” to raise debt.
“I’ve been sitting talking about the dollar/yen for 30 years and, believe me, it’s very boring,” Mr Gor said.
“Bonds are largely useless in portfolios now and no one will want to buy them as their yields stay depressed, so they won’t be great for governments wanting to raise debt,” he said.
Mr Gor is the latest in a wave of traditional financiers who have taken up posts in crypto-based businesses.
Trovio, which licenses digital asset technologies and provides crypto advice for institutional investors, has recently scooped up a number of high-profile hires, including Jonathan Caldwell from JPMorgan and Thomas Barton from Aralian Capital.
At Trovio, Mr Gor will also run his existing alternative-duration fund and look to establish a carbon fund, building out the advisory firm’s asset management arm in the emerging asset class.
Mr Gor has long held an interest in bitcoin and digital assets, particularly as expansive monetary policy dampened fixed income’s defensive position as an offset to riskier assets like equities in investor portfolios.
But he said the decline of government bonds marked a profound macroeconomic shift for central banks, which were increasingly experimenting with CBDCs, or central bank digital currencies.
“Bonds won’t exist in 10 years, and the trillions of dollars of bonds we have won’t trade because we’re moving to a world where central banks will set interest rates for people via central bank digital currencies,” Mr Gor said.
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Government Bonds
https://www.australiangovernmentbonds.gov.au/how-invest
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For 10 days during the floods in Northern NSW the internet and mobile phone services were kaput/inoperable/unfixable, and the town I am in was cut off completely. The only way I could buy cans of soup and other food to stay alive was with cash – all shops that were still above water were “Cash Only”. CBDC’s would result in the starvation of thousands in any natural disaster like floods or bushfires.
By the way there were two out of eight ATM’s which somehow were still working and they ran out of notes within 24 hours.
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So revert to franking machines kept by businesses including sole traders for emergency transactions.
Debit or Credit card imprinted onto paper, buyer copy, business copy and banker copy.
That’s how it was done before the internet.
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Digital Money
Money is not coins and banknotes; it’s anything that people are willing to use in order to represent systematically the value of other things for the purpose of exchanging goods and services. Money enables people to compare quickly and easily the value of different commodities, to easily exchange one thing for another, and to store wealth conveniently. Before coins and banknotes, different cultures chose objects or materials to represent value: shells, cattle, skins, salt, grain and cloth.
The sum total of money (M2) in the world is about $60 trillion of which c. 1/10th is held as coins or bank notes. The remaining 90% is held as digital money on computers servers; the vast majority of transactions by value are executed by moving electronic data from one computer file to another without any exchange of physical cash.
The on-going adoption of digital money has been driven by three factors. The first factor is that digital money is cheaper than cash to handle, cash costs society as much as 1.5% of GDP. Savings arise from: 1. Reduced administration costs (governments can save up to 75% with electronic payment programs). 2. Reduced security costs and loss of funds from theft (75-80% of the $22 billion in benefits of shifting India’s government payments to electronic would come from reducing leakage of funds in government transfer schemes ending up in the wrong hands). 3. Reduced costs from saving time or transportation.
The second factor is the ability for people and systems to connect digitally, enabled by the growth of mobile and fixed line networks, and underpinned by maturing technology standards and protocols (e.g. credit and debit card payment schemes; SEPA – the Single Euro Payments Area). Increased connectivity is also at the core of efforts to increase financial inclusion through digital money, where a lack of bank and cash infrastructure and ability of individuals to authenticate their credentials is traditionally cited as an underlying challenge. Safaricom’s M-Pesa solution in Kenya demonstrates how connectivity can assist in leapfrogging traditional cash-based infrastructure.
The final factor driving adoption is mobility. People, devices and transaction locations are literally moving and consumers are seeking more convenient ways to pay. Consumers can and want to shop from their own home, send a payment from an app on their PDA, wave a contactless card to use mass transit or pay for their Uber ride automatically. And as people have migrated, so too has boomed the digital money of International remittances.
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I have got to the point that I can only skim over the ‘flim-flam’ that passes for ‘news’ by the mains-stream-media these days – let alone the so-called ‘investigative journalism’. I am tired of the lack of details when I read a sensationalised headline.
Having watched a number of interviews, from independent news sources, of the investor analyst Edward Dowd, I have begun to listen very carefully to what he has to say – and predict.
Having been interested in modern history and, broadly, geo-politics, for more years than I care to admit to, I found his ’connecting of the dots’ between finance-central banks, widespread fraud in institutions , including government, and the Covid plandemic alone, well worth the time to set aside to take in.
I would think such a headline as: “CDC data reveals ‘Democide’ Death by Government” would catch the attention of most people.
A detailed report can be found here:
https://odysee.com/@CosmicEvent:5/ Edward-Dowd-CDC
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