Keep Track of What Matters

[amd]

CBDC Insider

https://cbdcinsider.com/

 

[amd]

Is the future getting clearer now?

Are we going to spent the next few years debating if it was a plane or a missile what hit the Pentagon on 9/11 .. or if 1/3 of injections contain a saline solution .. or ..

It doesn't matter when there's a bigger fish to fry.

This is total control from their comfortable chairs, the government won't need to do much to isolate you, no need for "FEMA/Walmart/Covid camps".


Programmable money promises a frictionless payment future (Forbes - Mar 25, 2021)

In one scenario, central banks can program digital currency with logic so it can be spent only for a designated purpose.

“Whether the digital currency is private or CBDC, it has to have the same price stability and level of trust,” said Bramm. “Trusting an organization like a central bank also means trusting that country’s economy.”

Note: Trust or confidence in the government is the Achilles' heel of any currency or economy.


CBDC Insider (Tracking central bank digital currencies worldwide)

https://cbdcinsider.com/

 

[Birdie]

It's a big concern. Out of my hands, but still on my mind.

 

[Lollipop2]

It's a big concern. Out of my hands, but still on my mind.

+1 Right?!?! I wonder how long until this comes about? I have heard between 2 and 5 years. Anyone know?

 

[LA]

Thank you @fico this is disturbing. I have been paying some attention to this situation. Here are some quickie thoughts and links:

China’s ‘Social Credit Scoring’ Is Expanding Globally, Now Openly Operational In Western Canada
Posted By: Scott McGregor & Ina Mitchell via TSG April 27, 2021

This is not Communism, it is Technocracy. Technocrats in China are spreading their web of control into every nation where they can get away with it. Now Western Canada has succumbed and allowed the tyrannical surveillance systems to infiltrate its social fabric. TN Editor

China’s Orwellian “social credit system” that records the social and financial behaviour of individuals and corporations across China, using a vast surveillance system, has expanded globally, and is now openly operational at the renowned Haidilao hot pot restaurant, in Western Canada.

Ryan Pan, a manager with Haidilao Hot Pot in Vancouver confirmed that over 60 surveillance cameras have been installed in the restaurant at the request of the Haidilao corporation, as part of the social credit system in China. He said that the Vancouver location has 30 tables with two cameras assigned to each table.

When asked specifically why Haidilao required so many cameras to monitor staff and patrons, Ryan Pan said that the cameras were installed to “punish” staff if they didn’t adhere to corporate standards and to “people track”. Pan also said that the video is sent back to China but declined to say why this was, other than to say the reason for this was “secret.”

Founded in Sichuan, China, the Haidilao opened up at two locations in the Vancouver region, the most recent of which was opened in 2018 in a former Swiss Chalet restaurant in the trendy Kitsilano district of Vancouver. The location is within walking distance of the home rented by Huawei for staff temporarily re-located to Vancouver to assist Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer (CFO) of the telecom giant. Following her arrest and hearing over a provisional US extradition request for fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud in order to circumvent US sanctions against Iran. The Haidilao location is no more than 10 minutes to Meng Wanzhou’s mansion and the Peoples Republic of China Consulate. Haidilao has over 935 locations around the world and more than 36 million VIP members and 60,000 plus staff.

We reached out to Ivy Li, with the Canadian Friends of Hong Kong, who is a well-known public speaker, writer and activist on matters related to China and pro-democracy, to ask why Canadians should be concerned that China’s social credit system is now operational in Canada.

Ivy, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, had this to say in response: “Not only ethnic Chinese Canadians and residents, and businesses with Chinese ties are put at risk, but the privacy and safety of all Canadians and our society are compromised. Customers at a popular ethnic cuisine restaurant, especially in an upscale area, could be diplomats and politicians entertaining their guests, CEOs discussing their business strategies, professionals talking about company projects, journalists conducting interviews, etc., etc. Dinners discuss a wide range of subjects, especially after a couple of wine. The dining table in a popular restaurant is one of the best places to eavesdrop on someone and to get the pulse of a society.”

CHINA’S SOCIAL CREDIT SYSTEM

China’s social credit system was officially rolled out nationwide in 2014 with a plan to build “trust” in the marketplace and broader society. According to a report by USA Congressional Research Service (CRS) in 2020, China’s social credit system has developed into two connected but distinct systems: a system for monitoring individual behaviour, still in early pilot stages, and a more robust system for monitoring corporate behaviour.

The deadline for implementing China’s social credit system was 2020 when it became mandatory for all Chinese citizens to be enrolled in the national database and rated with a “social score” based on different behaviours; these “social scores” are then used to punish or reward. Praise the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on social media and you will be given a higher score, potentially leading to benefits such as priority for school admissions, free gym services, shorter wait times at hospitals and other benefits. Illegally protest against the CCP, forget to pay your utility bill, or knowingly associate with another individual who has a low score, and you might be restricted in accessing public services, excluded from taking transportation, or perhaps your children will be denied entry into the best schools.

A similar model is applied to businesses in China called the Corporate Social Credit System (CSCS) designed to create a single, standardized reputation system for local and foreign firms alike. The system touches on virtually all aspects of a company’s business operations in China by assessing company performance, making sure they pay their taxes, uphold standard of service and other market entities. Based on their rating, Chinese authorities will reward or punish businesses that can result in penalty fees, higher inspection rates and possibly even blacklisting. Companies receiving a high corporate social credit score could result in better tax rate, market access and possibly being placed on what is known as a “redlist”.

That is inside China. What isn’t clear is how China’s social credit system impacts overseas Chinese living in Canada who work for companies with ties to China who are required to be a part of CSCS. Will the behaviours and actions taken by individuals working in Canada for Chinese companies impact the score of relatives or other employees inside China? It’s not inconceivable that a person protesting in Canada about human rights abuses in China, may not be hired by a Chinese owned company because they have been blacklisted by China’s social credit system, even if they live in Canada. What about the impact of China’s social credit system on Canadian employment laws, privacy, and human rights laws?

We know that China has already started to move forward with the creation of an English language corporate social credit system version by Xinhua Credit for non-Chinese firms.

International brands are already punished if they step out of line in and out of China. They must either stay silent or actively support China’s policies if they want future access to the Chinese market. We saw the NBA’s Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of the Hong Kong protests and ultimately was forced to apologize. More recently, the boycott of H&M and other Western brands in China after they spoke out against forced labour in the cotton industry in the Xinjiang region of China. There is already a punishment-based system for corporations that don’t comply with the CCP regime regardless of compliance with China’s CSCS.

[I did not read the comments]

China's 'Social Credit Scoring' Is Expanding Globally, Now Openly Operational In Western Canada

This is not Communism, it is Technocracy. Technocrats in China are spreading their web of control into every nation where they can get away with it. Now Western Canada has succumbed and allowed the tyrannical surveillance systems to infiltrate its social fabric.

www.technocracy.news

[read story only

China’s social credit program creeps into Canada - The Sunday Guardian Live

China’s surveillance system of ‘social credit’ has expanded globally and is now openly operational in Western Canada. Vancouver, British Columbia,

www.sundayguardianlive.com

Here is where it becomes more troubling :
[the following links are recently from Drudge and probably others are elsewhere too on the same subject]

El Salvador now world's largest bitcoin experiment. Many say they want no part in it....

El Salvador is now the world’s largest bitcoin experiment. Salvadorans say they want no part in it.

As El Salvador adopts bitcoin, its young president is dismantling democracy

As El Salvador adopts bitcoin, its young president is dismantling democracy

President Nayib Bukele faced international condemnation after his supporters moved to fire a third of the nation's judges and clear the way for Bukele to seek a second term.

news.yahoo.com

After reading your post I needed to present the following for consideration:

One of the younger Rothschild Bankers was a drug addict and died young.
Benjamin de Rothschild (died aged 57)
30 July 1963
Died 15 January 2021

Benjamin de Rothschild - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

He was married to Ariane de Rothschild
I viewed their genealogy tree on the dailymail some time ago. It did not include her birth surname.Finally at some point this information appeared along with her birth name and father's occupation

Ariane de Rothschild - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ariane Langner November 1965 (age 55)
was born in San Salvador, El Salvador,
to a father who was a senior executive at the international pharmaceutical company Hoechst.
Until the age of eighteen, Ariane de Rothschild and her brother Philippe lived with their parents in Bangladesh, Colombia and the former Zaire (DRC)

 

[amd]

Say Goodbye To Bitcoin And Say Hello To The Digital Dollar
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrich/2021/06/23/say-goodbye-to-bitcoin-and-say-hello-to-the-digital-dollar/

Yesterday we talked about the prospects of a digital dollar coming down the pike.

It seems clear that global governments will not allow non-sovereign forms of money to continue to proliferate.

The Senate Banking committee's hearing on the digital dollar two weeks ago was not only a public exploration and introduction to the concept a central bank-backed digital currency, the hearing was also used as a platform to publicly assassinate the viability of the private ("bogus" in the words of Senator Warren) cryptocurrency market (bitcoin, stablecoins, etc.).

With this in mind, the Chinese government has continually tightened control over the crypto market in China, most recently cracking down on cryptocurrency mining in the country. The U.S. Justice Department announced a few weeks ago that it "recovered" $2.3 million in cryptocurrency of the ransom collected from the Colonial Pipeline hack. And today, it was reported that South Korea seized almost $50 million of crypto assets from citizens accused of tax evasion.

So the benefits of the private cryptocurrency market are being deconstructed by governments.

 

[LA]

Treasury Department Seeks to Track Financial Transactions of Personal Bank Accounts Over $600​

The Biden Administration plans on taking unprecedented looks at individual's bank accounts.

Tuesday, September 14, 2021​

In May, the Treasury Department released the Biden administration’s revenue proposals for fiscal year 2022. One aspect of this document that has gone under-reported is the administration's new plan for reporting requirements for financial institutions.

The document is unequivocal about the administration’s goal for financial reporting, stating, “this proposal would create a comprehensive financial account information reporting regime.”

The Biden administration’s goal here is to increase tax revenue by making sure no income avoids detection. How will the administration do this? It plans to leverage financial institutions like banks.

“This requirement would apply to all business and personal accounts from financial institutions,” the proposal reads, “including bank, loan, and investment accounts, with the exception of accounts below a low de minimis gross flow threshold of $600 or fair market value of $600.”

In other words, financial institutions will report any flows in and out of business and personal accounts of more than $600.

This reporting requirement is far above any current requirements on financial institutions. As the document itself states, currently only information for certain types of revenue (including 1099 forms MISC, NEC, and K) require reporting.
Some may view this proposal by the Biden administration positively. After all, this isn’t an attempt at raising taxes. The goal of this policy is to ensure individuals pay what is legally required, isn’t it?

There are two issues with this way of thinking.

Cutting off Air to the Market​

The first issue is highlighted by economist Ludwig von Mises’s insight that “capitalism breathes through [the] loopholes.” The great innovations and improvements in well-being made available through capitalism were not generated in a loophole-free system. Oftentimes, the most important innovations begin as small start-ups with razor thin margins. As loopholes close, the chance of these risky start-ups succeeding declines.

Entrepreneurs are not ignorant to the barriers of regulations and taxation. When something is taxed, you get less of it. If any entrepreneurs are right on the fence of whether a new business venture is likely to be worth it, increasing costs even a little bit may be enough to persuade them otherwise. Economists call this “being on the margin.”

Avoiding taxes and reporting on small dollar transactions (either intentionally or unintentionally) is another form of loophole. De jure businesses are required to follow strict tax reporting rules, but, much like driving the speed limit, the de facto reporting often departs from the official rule.

To understand the danger of making businesses comply with tax law to the letter, consider how difficult it would be for businesses to do so. The tax code is now so long that nobody, including government officials, are sure of its length. How can business-owners be sure they’re complying with a document of unknown length? Put simply, they can’t.

Therefore, not only will these increased financial reporting requirements raise taxes on entrepreneurs on the margin, they will also force businesses to expend more time and resources ensuring they pay the proper amount of taxes. Any tax audit with access to every account transfer over $600 will crush businesses without a team of accountants or lawyers able to justify every transfer.
The burden of this policy, then, will fall primarily on small businesses without access to a massive internal legal team. A policy that punishes small businesses like this may be good for large corporations, but it’s bad for market competition.
As Mises noted, capitalism suffocates without loopholes.

The End of Financial Privacy​

The second issue associated with Biden’s proposal is its effect on financial privacy. The administration’s focus on increasing financial reporting is becoming a consistent theme. For example, the “information reporting regime” document also includes proposals for cryptocurrency reporting which can be seen as a precursor to the crypto reporting requirements shoehorned into the “infrastructure” bill.

The increase in financial scrutiny provided by access to every transaction greater than $600 associated with personal accounts would provide an unprecedented look into the finances of many Americans. Even the powerful political will behind the 2002 “Patriot Act” only led to requirements that banks report suspicious transactions of $5,000 or more.

Much like small businesses, most individuals don’t have access to a team of lawyers and accountants the same way DC politicians and bureaucrats do. As such, these new requirements are likely to hurt poor and middle income Americans whose primary source of income is non-traditional. This is unsurprising given the Biden administration's record of threatening gig work, for instance.

Some may argue that privacy is unnecessary because you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide. But, again, individuals cannot be expected to perfectly comply with a document of unspecified length. Unfortunately, as the government approaches perfect information, perfect compliance becomes the standard.
At one time, perhaps community banks or other small financial institutions interested in keeping customers around could’ve provided resistance to this by generating political pushback or work-arounds for customers.

However, government policies have effectively destroyed a more decentralized network of financial institutions. Since the early 1990s the number of small banks has fallen from over 10,000 to below 5,000. Now politicians are proposing to leverage their relationships with the few big players who are “too big to fail” to examine every aspect of Americans’ finances.

Especially with the lockdowns, the federal government already has small businesses, independent contractors, and the economy in general in a stranglehold. This new “Information Reporting Regime” will only tighten its economically lethal grip.

By Peter Jacobsen
Peter Jacobsen is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Ottawa University and the Gwartney Professor of Economic Education and Research at the Gwartney Institute. He received his PhD in economics from George Mason University, and obtained his BS from Southeast Missouri State University. His research interest is at the intersection of political economy, development economics, and population economics.

[0]

Biden Treasury Department Seeks to Track Financial Transactions of Personal Bank Accounts Over $600

The Biden administration is proposing that banks be required to report all transactions greater than $600 to collect more tax revenue. This policy is poised to suffocate businesses and stifle the financial privacy of Americans.

fee.org

 

[Lollipop2]

Treasury Department Seeks to Track Financial Transactions of Personal Bank Accounts Over $600​

The Biden Administration plans on taking unprecedented looks at individual's bank accounts.

Tuesday, September 14, 2021​

In May, the Treasury Department released the Biden administration’s revenue proposals for fiscal year 2022. One aspect of this document that has gone under-reported is the administration's new plan for reporting requirements for financial institutions.

The document is unequivocal about the administration’s goal for financial reporting, stating, “this proposal would create a comprehensive financial account information reporting regime.”

The Biden administration’s goal here is to increase tax revenue by making sure no income avoids detection. How will the administration do this? It plans to leverage financial institutions like banks.

“This requirement would apply to all business and personal accounts from financial institutions,” the proposal reads, “including bank, loan, and investment accounts, with the exception of accounts below a low de minimis gross flow threshold of $600 or fair market value of $600.”

In other words, financial institutions will report any flows in and out of business and personal accounts of more than $600.

This reporting requirement is far above any current requirements on financial institutions. As the document itself states, currently only information for certain types of revenue (including 1099 forms MISC, NEC, and K) require reporting.
Some may view this proposal by the Biden administration positively. After all, this isn’t an attempt at raising taxes. The goal of this policy is to ensure individuals pay what is legally required, isn’t it?

There are two issues with this way of thinking.

Cutting off Air to the Market​

The first issue is highlighted by economist Ludwig von Mises’s insight that “capitalism breathes through [the] loopholes.” The great innovations and improvements in well-being made available through capitalism were not generated in a loophole-free system. Oftentimes, the most important innovations begin as small start-ups with razor thin margins. As loopholes close, the chance of these risky start-ups succeeding declines.

Entrepreneurs are not ignorant to the barriers of regulations and taxation. When something is taxed, you get less of it. If any entrepreneurs are right on the fence of whether a new business venture is likely to be worth it, increasing costs even a little bit may be enough to persuade them otherwise. Economists call this “being on the margin.”

Avoiding taxes and reporting on small dollar transactions (either intentionally or unintentionally) is another form of loophole. De jure businesses are required to follow strict tax reporting rules, but, much like driving the speed limit, the de facto reporting often departs from the official rule.

To understand the danger of making businesses comply with tax law to the letter, consider how difficult it would be for businesses to do so. The tax code is now so long that nobody, including government officials, are sure of its length. How can business-owners be sure they’re complying with a document of unknown length? Put simply, they can’t.

Therefore, not only will these increased financial reporting requirements raise taxes on entrepreneurs on the margin, they will also force businesses to expend more time and resources ensuring they pay the proper amount of taxes. Any tax audit with access to every account transfer over $600 will crush businesses without a team of accountants or lawyers able to justify every transfer.
The burden of this policy, then, will fall primarily on small businesses without access to a massive internal legal team. A policy that punishes small businesses like this may be good for large corporations, but it’s bad for market competition.
As Mises noted, capitalism suffocates without loopholes.

The End of Financial Privacy​

The second issue associated with Biden’s proposal is its effect on financial privacy. The administration’s focus on increasing financial reporting is becoming a consistent theme. For example, the “information reporting regime” document also includes proposals for cryptocurrency reporting which can be seen as a precursor to the crypto reporting requirements shoehorned into the “infrastructure” bill.

The increase in financial scrutiny provided by access to every transaction greater than $600 associated with personal accounts would provide an unprecedented look into the finances of many Americans. Even the powerful political will behind the 2002 “Patriot Act” only led to requirements that banks report suspicious transactions of $5,000 or more.

Much like small businesses, most individuals don’t have access to a team of lawyers and accountants the same way DC politicians and bureaucrats do. As such, these new requirements are likely to hurt poor and middle income Americans whose primary source of income is non-traditional. This is unsurprising given the Biden administration's record of threatening gig work, for instance.

Some may argue that privacy is unnecessary because you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide. But, again, individuals cannot be expected to perfectly comply with a document of unspecified length. Unfortunately, as the government approaches perfect information, perfect compliance becomes the standard.
At one time, perhaps community banks or other small financial institutions interested in keeping customers around could’ve provided resistance to this by generating political pushback or work-arounds for customers.

However, government policies have effectively destroyed a more decentralized network of financial institutions. Since the early 1990s the number of small banks has fallen from over 10,000 to below 5,000. Now politicians are proposing to leverage their relationships with the few big players who are “too big to fail” to examine every aspect of Americans’ finances.

Especially with the lockdowns, the federal government already has small businesses, independent contractors, and the economy in general in a stranglehold. This new “Information Reporting Regime” will only tighten its economically lethal grip.

By Peter Jacobsen
Peter Jacobsen is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Ottawa University and the Gwartney Professor of Economic Education and Research at the Gwartney Institute. He received his PhD in economics from George Mason University, and obtained his BS from Southeast Missouri State University. His research interest is at the intersection of political economy, development economics, and population economics.

[0]

Biden Treasury Department Seeks to Track Financial Transactions of Personal Bank Accounts Over $600

The Biden administration is proposing that banks be required to report all transactions greater than $600 to collect more tax revenue. This policy is poised to suffocate businesses and stifle the financial privacy of Americans.

fee.org

Yikes - $600.00 seriously?!?! Getting ready for FedDC...

 

[Birdie]

Regarding it all, guy on Zero hedge comments;

Being a glass half full kind of guy I prefer to focus on our strengths. That would a lot easier if I could figure out what they were.

 

[Birdie]

I recommend the comments:

When The Levee Breaks...

When The Levee Breaks... | ZeroHedge

 

[LA]

Regarding it all, guy on Zero hedge comments;

Being a glass half full kind of guy I prefer to focus on our strengths. That would a lot easier if I could figure out what they were.

Focus on the positive is good bliss

 

[Birdie]

Yikes - $600.00 seriously?!?! Getting ready for FedDC...

I think they are just setting us up to receive the reporting idea. They didn't want the number to be 600. They put that out so people would complain about the amount. They don't care about the amount, they just want the reporting. They'll be happy to fool us now into thinking we're getting our way. But we are not. If the reporting is done, they don't care about the amount. That can always be lowered later.

But the goal is to get the banks to report the cash deposits. The government wants to be in complete control of the cash and this reporting is just a step in that direction.

 

[Lollipop2]

I think they are just setting us up to receive the reporting idea. They didn't want the number to be 600. They put that out so people would complain about the amount. They don't care about the amount, they just want the reporting. They'll be happy to fool us now into thinking we're getting our way. But we are not. If the reporting is done, they don't care about the amount. That can always be lowered later.

But the goal is to get the banks to report the cash deposits. The government wants to be in complete control of the cash and this reporting is just a step in that direction.

Grrrgh...makes sense. People wake up.

 

[amd]

OCC Nominee Envisions ‘Deliberately Radical’ Redesign of US Banking System
https://www.pymnts.com/cbdc/2021/occ-nominee-envisions-deliberately-radical-redesign-united-states-banking-system/

“The core idea here is simply to allow all U.S. citizens and lawful residents, local governments, non-banking firms and non-business entities to open transactional accounts directly with the Federal Reserve, thus bypassing private depository institutions,” she wrote. “In this sense, it is a variation on the familiar FedAccounts — or FedCoin, ‘digital dollar wallets,’ etc. — theme. In principle, FedAccounts can be made available as an alternative to bank deposit accounts, upon a person’s request.”

But the more effective option, she said, would be to transform all deposits to the Fed.

The proposed FedAccounts would be identical, she wrote, and the accounts would earn interest, and the interest rates on those accounts would serve as a tool within monetary policy, setting a “floor” in interest rate policy.
Migrating demand deposits to the Fed, where interest payments and disbursements and other activities are given over to the central bank would sideline financial institutions (FIs) and credit unions (CUs) from their traditional roles. Simply introducing those FedAccounts to co-exist or exist on top of traditional banking structures would be ineffective, the paper argued.

Omarova said the banks would conceivably be “integrated in the Fed’s new payments system for reasons of public policy, as crucially important local providers of essential banking services to middle-class and especially low-income and currently under-banked communities across America. … Their branches would effectively function as the Fed’s representative offices, thus giving CBIs’ ‘franchisee’ status a very direct meaning.”

It might be the case that curbing crypto in the states — if that comes pass — paves the way for that Fed-backed CBDC to take shape, and, should Omarova’s vision come to pass, move banks to the sidelines.

 

[Lollipop2]

OCC Nominee Envisions ‘Deliberately Radical’ Redesign of US Banking System
https://www.pymnts.com/cbdc/2021/occ-nominee-envisions-deliberately-radical-redesign-united-states-banking-system/

“The core idea here is simply to allow all U.S. citizens and lawful residents, local governments, non-banking firms and non-business entities to open transactional accounts directly with the Federal Reserve, thus bypassing private depository institutions,” she wrote. “In this sense, it is a variation on the familiar FedAccounts — or FedCoin, ‘digital dollar wallets,’ etc. — theme. In principle, FedAccounts can be made available as an alternative to bank deposit accounts, upon a person’s request.”

But the more effective option, she said, would be to transform all deposits to the Fed.

The proposed FedAccounts would be identical, she wrote, and the accounts would earn interest, and the interest rates on those accounts would serve as a tool within monetary policy, setting a “floor” in interest rate policy.
Migrating demand deposits to the Fed, where interest payments and disbursements and other activities are given over to the central bank would sideline financial institutions (FIs) and credit unions (CUs) from their traditional roles. Simply introducing those FedAccounts to co-exist or exist on top of traditional banking structures would be ineffective, the paper argued.

Omarova said the banks would conceivably be “integrated in the Fed’s new payments system for reasons of public policy, as crucially important local providers of essential banking services to middle-class and especially low-income and currently under-banked communities across America. … Their branches would effectively function as the Fed’s representative offices, thus giving CBIs’ ‘franchisee’ status a very direct meaning.”

It might be the case that curbing crypto in the states — if that comes pass — paves the way for that Fed-backed CBDC to take shape, and, should Omarova’s vision come to pass, move banks to the sidelines.

A slavery system for all US citizens...

 

[amd]

Reuter Discusses Threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies
https://bankingjournal.aba.com/2021/11/reuter-discusses-threat-of-central-bank-digital-currencies/

A U.S. central bank digital currency, or CBDC, would be a “threat to core funding to the banking industry,” Jim Reuter, ABA board member and president and CEO of FirstBank in Lakewood, Colorado, said on a new episode of IntraFi Network’s Banking with Interest Podcast.

“One of the number one ways we make money as an industry is net interest margin. The best way to maximize your results is to have low cost core deposits that are sticky,” Reuter explained. “I worry that if there is a wallet you can have with the Federal Reserve . . . and they allow people to access that money directly—even if it’s through their bank—it’s still a liability of the Federal Reserve, so those funds are technically not on your balance sheet to be used to make loans in the community and service your customers.”

As policymakers explore the possibility of implementing a CBDC in the U.S., Reuter warned that any such effort—including capping the amount of money depositors can hold directly with the Fed—would have a detrimental effect on local communities. “If you do not keep a two-tiered system where the deposits are here and we’re working with our customers locally to figure out how to best put that money to work, you’re really losing a foundational element in every community.”

ABA has cautioned that the introduction of a CBDC could “fundamentally change the role of the central bank in the United States and reshape the banking system,” and continues to urge policymakers to seriously weigh the potential benefits of a CBDC with the significant risks it would pose to consumers and financial markets.

 

[LA]

Everyone in this city will take cash. I like it due to some store cashiers, at some of the larger stores like Target, and Best-Buys, TJMax, plus a few others I forgot about in the past that made headlines, stealing credit card numbers. Also paying with cash in a grocery story is much faster. Purchasing gasoline at a gas station is always safer when using cash.

 

[amd]

White House stands by Biden nominee Saule Omarova, who was arrested in 1995 for 'retail theft'
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-nominee-saule-omarova-arrested-theft

President Biden's nominee to lead a branch of the Treasury Department was arrested in 1995 for "retail theft."

Fox News obtained a Wisconsin Department of Justice criminal background check of Saule Omarova, the president’s nominee to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

According to the background check, Omarova was arrested by Madison, Wisconsin, police officers on June 2, 1995 and charged with a misdemeanor count of "retail theft."

 

[amd]

Biden Treasury nominee Omarova was member of Marxist Facebook group as recently as 2019, post indicates
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/saule-omarova-comptroller-currency-marxist-facebook

Saule Omarova, President Biden's pick to be the comptroller of the currency within the Treasury Department, appears to have joined a Facebook group for Marxist and socialist discussion in 2019, according to a post in the group called "Marxist Analysis and Policy."

This week, the right-leaning American Accountability Foundation first resurfaced a 2019 post from the public Facebook group. A member posted, "Let's welcome our newest members: Saule Omarova."

The post links to a Facebook account that's been in operation since at least 2017 with a profile picture that appears to be of Omarova. The account's profile picture has 85 visible likes and 14 visible comments, some of which appear to be from people who would reasonably run in the same social circles as Omarova. Those include a University of Minnesota law professor and a Cornell engineering professor.

The Facebook group's description states that it is for socialism and against capitalism.

"This Marxist group is a platform for analysis,policy (sic) and polemics from the perspectives of a diverse range of Socialist and anti-capitalist views," it says. "We are against exploitation,inequality,racial (sic) discrimination and ecological destruction at the core of Capitalist social relations. The working class has the potential and the ability to change Capitalism and in the process change itself. Only working people,by (sic) their own efforts, can free themselves from Capitalism. We stand for the self emancipation of the working class and Socialism."

The group's rules say, "No personal abuse will be allowed. Nor will racist or fascist comments be tolerated. Support for the Tory party is not acceptable. A culture of diverse Marxist, Socialist and radical views is the framework for the group."

Older posts include the "ACAB" (All Cops are Bastards) slogan, and celebrate the 2020 Seattle autonomous zone protest as at the center of the battle for socialism.

"Seattle emerged once again as the center of anti-capitalist mobilizations," one poster wrote. "The protestors occupied 6 blocks, and declared them to be police-free areas. They operate like a ‘soviet’ with many radical anti-police, and anti-capitalist speeches."

The poster added: "The radicalization of the youth and young workers in Seattle is very important. It shows a way for the protests in the rest of the country. This is one of these times that the masses radicalize very fast, and they are open for revolutionary socialist alternatives to the decaying capitalism."