There has been talk of doing away with paper currency for several decades, but up until now that has mostly been idle conjecture and mostly bluster. Gradually, however, the building blocks of such a system have indeed been developed. These enabling technologies include:
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
- Postal meters
- Credit and debit card enabled pay phones
- Credit and debit card enabled vending machines
- Credit and debit card enabled “pay before you exit” parking garage kiosks
- Grocery and warehouse store “member” cards
- Automated bank account and wage garnishment by the IRS
- Automated child support and alimony payments
- Transnational debit cards with a Maestro logo (such as EC and Switch cards)
- EBT cards
- Widespread use of cellular smartphones
- Widespread use of tablet and laptop computers
- Direct deposit of payroll checks and Social Security payments
- “E-Stamp” electronic postage stamp equivalents
- Electronic banking
- “Self checkout” terminals at stores
- Point of purchase (POP) credit/debit card terminals
- Credit/debit card enabled gas pumps
- The new chip-equipped “smart” credit cards
- The “Square” and PayPal “Here” credit/debit card readers
Perhaps the most crucial yet underappreciated one of these technologies was the advent of the very compact Square card reader in 2010. The Square magnetic strip card reader is a tiny attachment weighing less than two ounces that plugs into a cell phone. When used with its SquareUp cross-platform app, this device allows anyone with a functioning cell phone signal the ability to process credit card and debit card transactions. The Square reader is now a mature technology that is being mass produced and sold for less than $9.
The other key enabler was the advent of the EBT card, which replaced U.S. food stamps. The EBT card put the Federal government in the debit card-issuing business. Thus, all of the infrastructure is already in place to have a government-issued “Cash Card”. (It would be very quick and easy to start issuing a combination cash and EBT card, which might be marked “Federal Reserve Cash Card” or something similar.)
Here Comes E-Cash
It is noteworthy that some American urban dwellers no longer carry any cash. They pay for all of their everyday expenses with debit cards and credit cards. I expect the number of people in this category to continue to grow.
Back in 2012, the International Business Times, in a story headlined Sweden Going Cashless reported: “In Sweden, monetary transactions made with physical cash are down to three percent of the national economy” and predicted that the country would go entirely cashless in a few years. And just last week, the same publication reported that Norway is now very close to implementing a cashless society by means of cash cards that will entirely replace paper currency and coins. This is a frightening prospect, because once Norway does so other European nations will almost surely soon follow, claiming that “they must” for the sake of competitiveness. And once EU goes cashless, then the U.S. and Canada will likely follow suit.
An Orwellian Nightmare
A cashless society is a Collectivist/Statist Tyrant’s dream come true. It seems like something inspired by George Orwell’s novel 1984. Think of it: Fully documented accounting and taxation on every transaction, large or small, leaving little or no opportunity to conduct free, private enterprise on the gray market or so-called black market. There would be Total Information Awareness of every citizen’s spending habits and Total Information Awareness of every citizen’s travel and business relationships! What better tool for imposing a statist tyranny than having the ability to instantly target individuals, groups of individuals, or even entire demographic groups? Picture this: If you step out of line, then your account gets frozen, levied, or even zeroed in the blink of any eye. (If you think that the FAA’s horribly flawed “No Fly” list is bad, then just imagine a “No Buy” list for everything–even gasoline or groceries!) Have you ever seen the Aaron Eckhart movie titled Erased? Or the Will Smith movie Enemy Of The State? Those movies provide apropos analogies. The bottom line: Any dissent could be crushed, overnight.
Going “cashless” could give bankers, the police, debt collection companies, and/or tax agencies the ability to not only monitor but control and seize the liquid net worth of every private citizen, with no notice whatsoever. The incremental “fees” and taxes could be conducted at many levels simultaneously: local and state sales taxes, a future national sales tax, a future Value Added Tax (VAT), various “sin” taxes on alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and firearms, et cetera. With a cashless currency, the revenue gathering possibilities are endless.
Going Full Mugabe
Inflation, which is a hidden form of taxation, could be manufactured on demand and then conveniently “eliminated” by dropping a zero from a national currency unit. This process could be repeated, as needed, allowing governments to overspend to their heart’s desire. (Without the bother of printing and minting currency, any government could inflate their currency as much as they’d like. No muss, no fuss.)
All Crime Is Retail
The implementation of e-currency will no doubt be heralded in the mainstream press with cries of “All crime is retail”, meaning that without cash then most property crimes would be made very difficult or even impossible. What is the point of stealing someone’s wallet, if all that it contains is a driver’s license and a Cash Card that is worthless without a personal Identification Number (PIN)? Why steal anyone’s household property if it cannot be resold on the black market? The whole concept of a “bank robbery” at gunpoint would become ludicrous. They will also claim that it will eliminate street begging. And the narco-traffickers would lose the ability to transport their proceeds. The Generally Dumb Public (GDP) will be easily swayed by such arguments. So, I predict that the majority of the citizenry will be in favor of the “convenient” switch to digital currency.
Fully implementing an electronic currency in a nation as vast as the United States could prove difficult. Here in my corner of The American Redoubt, for example, there is no cellular phone coverage, and there probably won’t be for another 20 years. (The population density is so low that it does not justify the expense of building cell phone towers.) How could we “Square” our transactions without cell phones? So it is conceivable that an exception will be made for some rural residents. Perhaps this exception might be by allowing the continued use of U.S. coinage in rural areas. We’ll see what happens.
The Ultimate Stumbling Block: The Banksters
Here in the United States, the banksters effectively control our government. (If you doubt that they do, then just think of the last time that a banker truly LOST any money in a financial crisis. They no longer lose, because they are now always the first in line for full government bailouts. The game is rigged.) The key stumbling block to implementing a new e-currency will be the bankers themselves. Why? Because they make huge sums of money on credit card interest payments and banking fees, and they are loathe to giving up those revenue streams. So if a “Cash Card” system were ever put in place in the U.S. of A., I am almost certain that the bankers would insist that they still somehow get their generous slice of pie. Perhaps the national Cash Card “deposits” could somehow be proportionally divided between the regional Federal Reserve banks and local banks for “safekeeping”, based upon the ZIP codes of the resident “depositers”. Then, along with gradually higher interest rates, the banks would profit handsomely on the float of all those billions of “e-dollars”. (The switch to E-cash would drive all of the mattress money out of circulation; thus, the banksters would finally control all of the money supply.)
When the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve eventually do away with circulating Federal Reserve Notes and coins, it will probably be a swift transition. It is conceivable that as little as 60 days will be allowed for people to turn in their mattress money and empty their piggy banks before the paper currency is declared null and void. (Foreigner holders of U.S. Dollars will probably be allowed six months, or even longer.) Soon after, U.S. Savings bonds will also be called in, probably with a longer window of opportunity–perhaps two years. And then, finally, it will become illegal to hold foreign paper currencies or bearer bonds. That will be the proverbial last nail in the coffin for currency privacy.
If you think that the preceding sounds like some sort of implausible fiction, then consider this: In the depths of The Great Depression of the 1930s, the U.S. government forcibly called in all of the circulating gold coins in the country. The populace went along with it, with hardly a peep of discontent. I can foresee that in the next great financial crisis we will witness some highly-publicized bank runs, bank closures, and “bank holidays”. Following that, there will be loud calls for a digital currency, ostensibly so that “people will always have access to their deposits”. Count on it.
Since the adoption of a digital currency now appears inevitable, I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers proactively begin to take a few defensive measures to buffer themselves:
- Invest in some pre-1965 U.S. dimes and quarters. These coins were minted with 90% silver and therefore will continue to be valuable for barter, regardless of what the politicians and banksters dream up.
- Invest in common caliber ammunition. Again, like small silver coins, ammo is ideal for barter, because it is: A.) Easily Recognizable B.) Durable, C.) Desirable. D.) Useful, and E.) Easily Divisible.
- Invest in some rolls of U.S. nickels (five cent pieces). These are the only coins still in common circulation that have a base metal value (an alloy of copper and nickel) that is equal to their face value. (Yes, I know, pre-1981 pennies have real value, but they must be sorted.) If our current coinage ever formally goes out of circulation, I predict that nickels will still be used as a de facto barter currency.
- If you keep any non-U.S. currency on hand for traveling, then convert it into Swiss Franc currency. I predict that even if the rest of Europe goes cashless, then the Swiss government will keep the Swiss Franc in circulation, right alongside the transnational e-cash cards.
- If you have substantial wealth, then open an offshore banking account. For most Americans, the best hedge would be a demand account (with an accompanying debit card) that is denominated in Swiss Francs with a bank in the Cayman Islands or on St. Kitts. While you are at it, also get a safe deposit box offshore, and store some of your precious metals there.
- Practice bartering, and gather the requisite reference books.
- Install Bitcoin on your computer, and practice using it. (Note: because of the many wild fluctuations in the value of Bitcoin, I DO NOT recommend keeping more than a few hundred Dollars worth of your “cash” in the form of Bitcoin.)
- Pray hard. Pray first for repentance, and then pray that God providentially puts you in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, to be able to live without Taking The Mark. (There are many American Christians who believe that a universal electronic cash card might then be soon replaced by a universal biochip. See: Revelation 13:16-17. For some insights on whether or not we are now living in “The End Times”, see the preaching of Pastor J.D. Farag, of Calvary Chapel Kaneohe, Hawaii , on YouTube. Pay special attention to the 11 minute mark, and beyond.)
In closing, remember that there are three types of people in the world: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder “What just happened?” Don’t be in that last category! – JWR
(Note: Permission is granted for re-posting of this entire article but only if done so in full, with proper attribution to James Wesley, Rawles and SurvivalBlog, and only if the included links are preserved.)