Would you want the Central Bank to have 'absolute control' over your money?

Augustin Carstens, head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), says on the difference between cash and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC):Show more

"A key difference with the CBDC is that the central bank will have absolute control on the rules and regulations that will determine the use of that expression of central bank liability. And also, we will have the technology to enforce that."

Cash can be used as you see fit. You can use it to buy what you want, when you want, or save it. This is not the case with CBDC, which has strong similarities with China's social credit system.

If, for example, the government doesn't want you to buy something or travel somewhere, they can just block your (but not necessarily others') CBDC for that purpose.

If the government wants you to save money, they can give you a budget for the maximum amount of CBDC you can spend. If the government wants you to spend money to make the elites rich and stimulate the economy, they can declare that any CBDC not spent before a certain date will become worthless.

Normal people may be blocked from doing certain things or forced to do them, while the elite will be exempt. After all, all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

Another difference is not discussed in this video, is regarding privacy. With cash, it's quite cumbersome to track where and when it is spent, and how much you have. With CBDC, all financial data will be known about everybody by the (inherently untrustworthy) government.

Maajid Nawaz has a good rule of thumb: "When people say something, believe them".

Whether the potential negative consequences will materialize, is besides the point. The mere risk of it being abused is more than enough to not allow this to happen.

Are digital IDs a threat to freedom?

Watch full event replay here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=MJIf9zPTVD8

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtF3wCNcSHo