What is a CBDC and why should you worry about it?
On Thursday, the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) tweeted a link to a page on its website that explains what a CBDC is, along with some frequently asked questions about CBDC.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, which tasked his cabinet and various federal agencies with developing a framework for a CBDC and submitting related proposals.
What is a CBDC?
A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a digital currency issued and governed by a central bank. In the case of the United States, a CBDC would be a digital currency issued and controlled directly by the Federal Reserve.
CBDC is kind of like cash, which is backed by the Fed and whose value is manipulated by the Fed’s monetary policies.
However, where cash allows you to transact anonymously, CBDC would not. In fact, according to the Financial Times, CBDC would have to be tied to your digital ID.
What CBDC research and experimentation appears to be showing is that it will be nigh on impossible to issue such currencies outside of a comprehensive national digital ID management system. Meaning: CBDCs will likely be tied to personal accounts that include personal data, credit history and other forms of relevant information.
Digital IDs
A digital ID would be a form of digital identification that would also be issued by the government and would be tied to everything you do.
Think of it as a vaccine passport, but instead of it just being scanned when you enter restaurants or get an organ transplant, it would also be scanned when you buy gas, ride the bus or order groceries.
At least, that’s what the World Economic Forum (WEF) envisions as part of its “Great Reset”.
As reported by Frontline News, the WEF says on its website that “digital ID systems have enabled the authorities to identify populations reliably and remotely. . . . Digital ID, digital payments, and data governance are each important individually. Together, they add up to a powerful public good.”
In other words, digital ID + CBDC + controlling that data = The Great Reset.
What is The Great Reset?
The Great Reset is a plan of the WEF and global leaders to reshape the global economy and culture.
In a controversial ad published by the WEF in 2020, the organization promised that by 2030, “you will own nothing and you’ll be happy,” because everything and everyone will be digitized.
The WEF lays out other “predictions”, including:
- Whatever you want you’ll rent and it’ll be delivered by drone,
- The U.S. won’t be the world’s leading superpower, rather a handful of countries will dominate,
- We won’t transplant organs, we’ll print new ones instead,
- You’ll eat much less meat – an occasional treat, not a staple, for the good of our environment,
- Polluters will have to pay to emit carbon dioxide,
- There will be a global price on carbon.
What does this all mean?
Well, imagine your money being issued directly by the government and controlled by the government, who can also see and control everything you do with that money.
For example, if you’ve already exceeded your allotted meat purchases for the month, perhaps you will no longer be able to buy any more meat products until the next month.
Or, you might be limited to buying only a certain number of products made in the U.S.
Or, you might have money deducted from your account for every mile you drive in a vehicle that causes too much pollution. (The Biden administration and its mainstream media partners have already said they are planning to do this.)
The government has already made it clear that it wants to track individuals’ finances, like when Biden tried last year to monitor every bank account with a balance of over $600.
Lawmakers have also begun to float the prospect of the Federal Reserve issuing digital accounts to receive money such as COVID-19 stimulus checks, which would be deposited into the government-issued account instead of your personal bank account.
Again: Digital ID + CBDC + controlling that data = The Great Reset.
