As originally published exclusively in “Escape Artist Insider Magazine – June 2023 edition”.
“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.”
- Edward Snowden
This month’s theme is “Your Privacy Toolkit.”
If privacy is important to you… and it ought to be… you need to be prepared for the fight of your life. And not having anything to hide is no reason to be silent on this issue.
I don’t know about you, but daily my inbox is filled with warnings about the imminent launch of a new Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) here in the United States. Apparently, this will be the end of dollar bills and the start of a cashless society here in the U.S.A.
While I do not believe the United States is anywhere even close to launching a new CBDC, I am very concerned that this is the direction we are heading. I am also very concerned that people—wherever CBDC’s are being considered—will be sold on the benefits while the negatives are either underplayed or not even mentioned.
Two years ago, I was interviewed by Michelle Makori at Kitco News. Michelle asked me then what I thought about CBDCs. My answer was very clear… “I think Central Bank Digital Currencies were concocted in hell by Satan himself.”
CLICKABLE SCREENSHOT OF KITCO INTERVIEW HERE
You will see I was not a fan then, and I am still not a fan today. Please stick with me as I dig a little deeper into CBDCs and offer you some thoughts on some key privacy tools for Your Privacy Toolkit in a CBDC world.
TOUTED BENEFITS OF CBDCS
Without fail, proponents of CBDCs point to two major benefits of centralized digital currencies. They say it will make it much easier to send and receive funds. They also claim those who are currently unbanked will now be included in the financial system.
Adoption advocates make the case that we will be able to make payments much more quickly and efficiently. Further, we will be able to be paid much more quickly and efficiently. For instance, tax refunds and tax payments can be virtually instantaneous. Stimulus checks and other various payments would flow more dependably and rapidly—disability, social security, subsistence payments, etc.
Who doesn’t want to get paid quickly?
The other major benefit is financial inclusion.
Not everyone has a bank account. Poor people typically do not. Unless they can travel to you to make payment or make a payment to you through a third-party transfer agent, they cannot work with you currently. And this goes for domestic as well as internationally unbanked people.
However, with CBDCs they have access… assuming they have a smart phone or a computer and access to their accounts on-line.
In other words, CBDCs bring the promise of instantaneous gratification and inclusion for all.
So… what’s not to love?
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FEDCOIN
Glad you asked. Quite simply, everything…
If adopted, Central Bank Digital Currencies will be the end of financial privacy as we know it. Think about it. Every single penny you spend or receive will be known to the government as it is being debited or credited.
Getting back to the opening quote from Edward Snowden, it doesn’t matter if you have anything to hide or not. The potential for abuse by other human beings or governments is unlimited. For instance, let’s say you went on a pleasure trip in your automobile which is powered by dinosaur juice. And let’s say that caused you to exceed the amount of gasoline the powers that be thought you should expend monthly in the interests of climate change.
You could be shut off from further gasoline purchases.
Further, all your finances would be controlled by the federal government. Getting paid can be turned on or off at a whim. Payments? No problem. They can be taken from your account whether you know it or not… and whether you like it or not.
Imagine having your assets frozen due to the suspicion of guilt. One scenario comes to mind. Imagine you drive through an intersection and the light is changing from green to yellow to red. Consider the “red-light” camera isn’t properly calibrated, and you are captured in a photograph as a red-light violator. With a CBDC in place, the fines can immediately be withdrawn from your account… even though you had already authorized the funds to pay your mortgage payment instead.
There are more potential issues as well. The impact on monetary policy is unknown. Potential negative impact to the banking system is unknown. The potential for capital controls is elevated significantly in a CBDC world.
But… to me… all of that is secondary to the loss of all financial privacy and the total control of our finances by the government.
WHAT IF SATAN’S CONCOCTION IS ADOPTED?
If CBDCs come to pass, I expect that to trigger black markets and a new form of cash.
Anytime traditional markets failed anywhere in this world, black markets have emerged to fill the void. I see that happening if currency markets fail us through the adoption of CBDCs.
In my opinion, the most obvious candidate to fill the currency void would be Bitcoin.
Given my belief that humans will always seek to have some sort of financial privacy element, the elimination of dollar bills and other bank notes from society will not eliminate cash. Rather, I see gold and silver stepping in to fill the void of cash in a cashless society.
There is nothing more desirable or trusted to fill such a void.
If you haven’t already, establish a wallet, hold some Bitcoin, and buy some gold and silver. As you do so, I leave you with a comforting thought from George Orwell’s 1984…
“He thought of the telescreen with its never-sleeping ear. They could spy upon you night and day, but if you kept your head, you could still outwit them. With all their cleverness, they had never mastered the secret of finding out what another human being was thinking.”
Good investing…
