Not really you are assuming. At the end some people will go with what is provided, it doesn’t need to be a QR code it can go beyond that to fingerprints, which the government already has. If you are worried about privacy that is long gone, the amount of cameras that one passes by daily or internet traffic that is traceable through IP.
This is not about privacy……..it is about outright control. We Australians are not particularly good at being controlled. Perhaps it is a product of our convict backgrounds.
The slow demise of cash is the path to converting to cbdc and full control of your money
Good to see you exercising you’re inner Larrikin .
an
Here’s a more technical debate over the CBDC issue.
A taste;
“Systems theory isn’t abstract mathematics — it’s the grammar behind everything that surrounds us, from the internet packets carrying this text to the banknotes in your wallet, from the ecosystems outside your window to the institutional frameworks that govern them. Understanding systems theory means understanding the deep structures that shape power and control in our world.
At its heart lies a fundamental tension between two visions of organisation: Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s networks and Kenneth Boulding’s hierarchies. Bertalanffy saw systems as webs of interconnected nodes, robust through distribution. Boulding saw the necessity of layered organisation, coherence through structured levels.
This tension explains why clearinghouses exist, why they capture power, and why the question of control appears to haunt every system we build including governance.”
From your link…….in a nutshell.
“Central bank digital currencies represent the opposite extreme. CBDCs maintain the appearance of digital cash while implementing hierarchical control at every level. Every transaction requires permission from the central bank. Every payment can be monitored, blocked, or reversed. Programmable money can enforce spending restrictions, expire if unused, or redistribute value according to social credit scores.
The transformation follows the familiar pattern. Cash networks emerged organically from the need for portable value. Central banks became mediators, initially just providing stability and preventing counterfeiting. But this mediating position gradually expanded into comprehensive control over monetary policy, credit creation, and economic surveillance.
CBDCs represent the completion of this transformation — pure network topology replaced by pure hierarchical control. Digital identity systems provide the technical mechanism for this capture. Instead of anonymous cash transactions between peers, digital IDs ensure every individual exists as a traceable, controllable node within the hierarchy. Each person becomes permanently bound to their position in the system, unable to transact outside the mediating infrastructure. The combination of CBDCs and digital IDs eliminates the possibility of peer-to-peer value transfer — every transaction must flow through hierarchical control points that can monitor, restrict, or reverse payments based on identity verification.”
Many thanks bc9930.
The US has clearly thought this through. This is from your second link and it is a very good point.
“ According to the World Economic Forum, cashless societies can exclude many people, including those who don’t have bank accounts or credit cards, those who have a difficult time using computers and smartphones for banking purposes, or those who lack mobile or broadband connectivity.
Recent immigrants and retirees — as well as those with disabilities or living in rural areas — are “especially vulnerable” to the challenges of a cashless society.
A 2023 report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation found that 4.2% of U.S. households, which represents roughly 5.6 million homes, were considered “unbanked,” which means none of the household residents had a savings or checking account at a credit union or bank.”
Some talk about algorithmic debanking here.
I love this quote:
Using an Artificial Intelligence sentiment analysis tool, Merchant Machine’s survey of social media posts showed that most countries want to go cashless.
Which of course begs the question: is a survey of social media posts a useful - let alone accurate - survey of the general population? This ties back to some of my other pet peeves, companies that try to force you to use an app to do anything on the assumption that everyone who wants to interact with them both has a smartphone and wants to install an app, and companies that try to outsource all customer service to automated services on the assumption that nobody has a unique circumstance that requires human thought and solutions.
If I have the choice to avoid those sorts of businesses, I do, but sometimes it’s not a choice you have. For instance, if you need help with Xfinity internet because it’s the only service in your area, and you need to talk to a person to solve a problem not covered by their phone tree system, well, too bad, guess you don’t get a solution at all because you certainly won’t be connected to a person. Utter fuckhead management.
Precisely!
Here’s another view from a very well qualified source, Dr Mike Yeadon, former Pfizer VP research scientist.
“Here’s what I’m completely certain it’s going to be used to accomplish.
1. At a time of their choosing, the Useless Eliters will trigger an event that ends sovereign currencies and physical cash. Money will become solely digital but it won’t be like you currently know it. Instead, it’ll be Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
2. When you try buy anything, you’ll be required to show your digital ID. The merchant will be unable to process the payment without this. Your digital ID is the gateway to absolutely every transaction.”
A good while ago I never thought something like this could happen. As time went on it became more and more evident it not only could happen but was on it’s way to becoming reality. Looking around the BIS website I saw that certain peeps are working hard to bring it about on an international level. Since people need to eat (and survive) I’m pretty sure they’ll go along with it.
There’s also some who believe cryptos could be used as a way to implement it.
The crooks ( the social experiment) in Europe need an event to convert, IMF bailouts and war with Russia is a good opportunity.
They have and are still working hard for both
Commies, socialism, the loonie left just want control at any cost.
Need a 4th Reich ?
They are almost there, with the EU probably are
Some times privacy, profit & control go hand in hand.
the end of any of those for the voter…
Keep Cash, cash is power over the gov
very scary, a machine decides for you