Fifty Shades of Central Bank Tyranny. Are We Already Under A CBDC System?

Posted by freedomforall 1 month, 2 weeks ago to Economics
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Excerpt:
"The United States has had a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) since the late 1990s—or possibly even as far back as the 1970s, depending on how you define it. Definitions matter. Just as the bestselling novel 50 Shades of Gray explores the complex dynamics of control and submission in a relationship, our financial system has evolved into what could be called “50 Shades of Central Bank Tyranny.”

Each layer of our digital currency system peels back the seductive mask of freedom, revealing progressively darker shades of control. As we delve deeper, what seems like autonomy at first glance is only an illusion where more intricate and pervasive forms of dominance lay hidden, its grip tightening with every layer.

Our politicians work their sleight of hand by manipulating language itself to give a false impression, masking either a different intent or simply trying to gain the appearance of a victory with little or no actual underlying achievement. After all, the Patriot Act was anything but “patriotic.” The CARES Act, while sounding warmly empathetic, cared more about large multinational corporations than small businesses, about Big Pharma over American health, and above all, about the expansion of the surveillance state and protection of the censorship industrial complex over the liberty and free speech of the American people.

Just as 50 Shades of Gray reveals the intricate power plays in a seemingly consensual relationship, so too does our current financial system reveal its true nature as a digital dominatrix—one that has been steadily adding links to the chain of financial enslavement, tightening its grip on our autonomy for decades.

In this article, I will define what a Central Bank Digital Currency is by exploring its major categories. I’ll demonstrate that the US already operates with a form of CBDC, albeit without the flashy labels. I will also show that the Federal Reserve (the Fed) can introduce more dystopian elements into this system—such as programming restrictions on when, how, and where you can spend your money without requiring Congressional approval.

However, the fear of central bank control over your transactions is, in fact, a red herring. The real threat lies with our government, which has already perfected the art of surveillance. Adding programmability is just the next logical step. Ultimately, both Republicans and Democrats are steering us toward the same destination: total digital control. They may use different words and different propaganda, but their goals converge. While we can’t simply vote out of this predicament, we can opt out entirely."
SOURCE URL: https://brownstone.org/articles/fifty-shades-of-central-bank-tyranny/


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  • Posted by mhubb 1 month, 2 weeks ago
    with no gold backing the dollar
    all money is really digital
    and subject to manipulation
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    • Posted by tutor-turtle 1 month, 1 week ago
      Sure is.
      Direct deposit.
      Credit cards.
      On-line banking.
      Direct billing.

      Pay the businesses you love in cash, the rest get CC's.

      Instead of holding onto large sums of money in a bank, instead buy tangible things; land, tools, precious metals. If your hobby is cars, boats, antiques, music (fill in the blank) invest in quality. Make sure they are the desirable ones, the ones that hold long-term value.

      Always hold some cash on hand.
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  • Posted by CaptainKirk 1 month, 1 week ago
    Well, it's simply not that simple.
    Have we been moved into a CASHLESS Society. Yeah, certainly. (FWIW, the company that prints our $$$ demands payment in GOLD. LMAO)

    the biggest difference between a CBDC and our CASHLESS (semi-controlled) society is the application of a few rules.

    1) Programmatic Access Restriction (no meat for you)
    2) Zonal restrictions (Can't buy HERE)
    3) Expiration Currency (This $50 must be spent on hookers or children or it evaporates in 72hrs)
    4) Negative Interest Rates. (No bank could ever do this. People would not deposit with them. BUT a CBDC can just take the % out on a daily basis. Not a single human required once programmed in.
    5) Ability to tie this to Social Credit Scores, Permanent ID (Only racist if required for Voting, BTW), and as another control mechanism.
    6) Did you take your meds? Sorry, your wallet is closed until you take your Statin, your 115th Booster, and your "Side Effect Prevention Pill"

    So... NOT YET. And if we allow this, it will be much worse.

    For the record. BTC, like the Constitution, was designed to keep GOVERNMENTS in check.

    Imagine if the government had to pay everything on a BLOCK CHAIN with Publicly Visible Records.

    Good Luck MISPLACING $1 Trillion. It could not happen.

    That's why WE will live under a CBDC before they will.

    Imagine "Sorry, your government check cannot be cashed today, because Congress over spent the actual currency!"
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  • Posted by $ gharkness 1 month, 1 week ago
    Haven't read the entire article yet, but the reference to "The dollar is just an entry in a database" is SO obvious. I've believed that for years. Paper dollars are an inconvenient nod to the people who actually believe they have real money, and eventually will go away, once all the fine details (how to buy a 10-cent item, etc.) are ironed out. All the money we have put away in our safe will have to be surrendered - or forfeited forever. Once cash is outlawed, only outlaws will have cash. So.....no point in saving THAT up, that I can think of. Those of us who are older are going to have a hard time with this.
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  • Posted by mccannon01 1 month, 1 week ago
    The bulk of my wealth (and I suspect many other Gulchers) is already in "digital" form. It's held by financial institutions in the form of retirement accounts and bank deposits. Even my mortgage-paid-off house is "co-owned" by the government as I have to pay the royal rent (taxes) every year to remain living in it. When I think of it, a lot of what I think I have is already in the hands of the powers that be. The freedom remaining is I can still buy some things using cash that can't be traced, but the powers really don't give a damn if I buy another cook pot at a garage sale - I guess.
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    • Posted by 1 month, 1 week ago
      For some Gulchers their home is at a ridiculous multiple of its real value. There are other places in the world where the same (or better) home costs half as much (or less) and the government is less invasive (at present.) Many German Jews could have sold and left Germany before the "holocaust" but instead they buried their heads in the sand until it was too late to escape. I think Americans are approaching a very similar choice, but with much better available knowledge of the intent of the tyrants.
      Leaving our assets under the control of the enemy is foolish when there are alternatives. The enemy has imposed penalties if we wish to remove our assets from retirement accounts, but its foolish to risk 100% to avoid losing 20% of an asset with an inflated value. Moving the assets to a place that is much less likely to seize assets due to bail out thieves and enemies is common sense.The mountain of debt that the fools in D.C. have piled up will not go away peacefully, imo.
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      • Posted by mccannon01 1 month, 1 week ago
        I hear you, FFA. If I were 30 or even 20 years younger I'd be looking at an escape plan to foreign parts as you've suggested, but I see the looter class going worldwide so at my age I'll take my chances at hunkering down in a place I know (USA) rather than get slapped in a place I don't. Being in the winter of our lifespans with no debt my wife and I are just hoping things hold up until we're "called home". I don't see any other country at this time given our circumstances worth running to.
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        • Posted by 1 month, 1 week ago
          I'm still in search mode, but I'll let you know when I find a substitute Gulch.
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          • Posted by mccannon01 1 month, 1 week ago
            Happy searching, FFA! Meanwhile, I'll tip my hat to what's left of Free America and hope the citizenry wakes up to the rot and starts pushing to recover and preserve the Republic. MAGA is a good start at this point in time. I am noticing some people waking up.

            Side note: I watched an interesting video last night of a series of interviews of "millionaires" vacationing in Hawaii as to whom they are voting for. The Kommie-La supporters were all about she's a woman, she's black, she makes me feel good, and what a wonderful thing it would be to have woman of color for president. The Trump supporters were all about the economy, national sovereignty, and energy independence. The head count on the video was 50-50 but the reasoning contrast was stark!
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            • Posted by 1 month, 1 week ago
              After 60 years of observing D.C. and the 2020 stolen election and the treason of the supreme court regarding it, I'm not optimistic.
              Hawaii is second only to Commiepornia as a state in its lack of freedom. Lots of places more deserving of business from 'conservatives' and Trump supporters. The Deep State is at war with honest people, and the most effective weapon that conservatives can use peacefully is to starve to death the businesses that support enslaving us. This lack of resistance to tyranny also contributes to my lack of optimism.
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              • Posted by mccannon01 1 month, 1 week ago
                I hear a lot of rational voices out there amongst the commie chaos, including those in the Gulch, so I remain a little bit more optimistic the Free America giant will come out of its slumber and get back on track. It seems the peoples noses are getting rubbed in the leftist stink and they may snap to - hopefully. Kind of like the Q folks say the people have to be shown. I do back slide into pessimism from time to time, though.
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  • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 1 month, 1 week ago
    Sometimes I think they've grown bored of their own "slow boil" plans and just want to go full on in our face perversions.
    Our collective future is dark and short. I don't see their plans having any affect on our survival after the micro nova (armageddon) . No matter how much we prepare (in a basic sense) we still start from scratch.
    However, with innovative and creative input from the best of us in all fields, it's possible to hit the ground running and get back up quickly without having to reinvent the wheel.
    I wonder if anyone thought about these things during the "end days of Noah" . . .
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  • Posted by term2 1 month, 1 week ago
    CBDC is the end of the freedom in the USA. It will result in outlawing use of cash, giving the government total control over their monopoly currency. The only thing left is barter, which in today's economy would result in a near crash and inability to trade among people for the most part.
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