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#147 The Digital Dollar Deceit
#147 The Digital Dollar Deceit
As the Christian Economist, I worry about the threat to privacy posed by central bank digital currencies.
The US government first issued paper currency in 1861. For over 160 years, we have used dollars as our currency. You might even say, cash has been king. But it might be replaced by another king: The digital dollar, issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.
A Fiat is More than a Car
In the context of cars, FIAT is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino. Worth coming to class, I didn’t know that. But, we’re talking about fiat money, not cars. In this context, Fiat means “Let it be done.” In economics it means an arbitrary or authoritative command. Many currencies still have the face of the national sovereign on them. It recalls the classic case when the Pharisees were testing Jesus by asking if his disciples paid the temple tax. In response, in Matthew 22 Jesus asked, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” Oh, a couple observations: They were testing Jesus, who we believe was God. Not a good idea. And we often miss the most important part of that verse. Jesus responded, ”Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” is the first part. Now the important part, “…and render unto God what is God’s.” That means you and me. We are made in the Image of God, which I unpack in podcast #32 by that name. So, the coin goes to Caesar, and we go to God.
But, back to the Fiat idea. The king or queen issued the currency, so he or she was in control of it. Samuell Gregg, writing in his book For God and Profit, pointed out that the king could call money value up or down, depending on whether the debt was owed to him, or from him. You’re welcome to notice that the government is now calling the money value DOWN, via inflation, because its debt has increased from $20 trillion to $30 trillion in just a few years.
The Great Reset
Writing in the Epoch Times recently, an article by John Mac Ghlionn is titled A Digital Dollar is Coming: Americans should be concerned. He says, “A large number of Americans still believe, somewhat naively, that cryptocurrencies are the future of finance. They’re not… central bank digital currencies are the next step in the evolution of money.”
I challenged the World Economic Forum in podcast #112 titled The Great Reset. My basic argument is that Christians believe in two great resets: 1. Christ came to earth as the god man. 2. He’s coming back. Those are two great resets. In the meantime, how are Christians expected to produce and distribute goods in a scarce environment? My work as the Christian Economist is to seek answers to that question. Unlike cryptocurrencies, which are decentralized and designed for privacy, digital currencies are centralized and public. They are, in many ways, the antithesis of cryptocurrencies; because they are NOT private.
The United State is one of over 100 countries who are looking into digital currencies. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell generally suppor...
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By The Christian Economist | Dave Arnott
4.9
7373 ratings
#147 The Digital Dollar Deceit
As the Christian Economist, I worry about the threat to privacy posed by central bank digital currencies.
The US government first issued paper currency in 1861. For over 160 years, we have used dollars as our currency. You might even say, cash has been king. But it might be replaced by another king: The digital dollar, issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.
A Fiat is More than a Car
In the context of cars, FIAT is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino. Worth coming to class, I didn’t know that. But, we’re talking about fiat money, not cars. In this context, Fiat means “Let it be done.” In economics it means an arbitrary or authoritative command. Many currencies still have the face of the national sovereign on them. It recalls the classic case when the Pharisees were testing Jesus by asking if his disciples paid the temple tax. In response, in Matthew 22 Jesus asked, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” Oh, a couple observations: They were testing Jesus, who we believe was God. Not a good idea. And we often miss the most important part of that verse. Jesus responded, ”Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” is the first part. Now the important part, “…and render unto God what is God’s.” That means you and me. We are made in the Image of God, which I unpack in podcast #32 by that name. So, the coin goes to Caesar, and we go to God.
But, back to the Fiat idea. The king or queen issued the currency, so he or she was in control of it. Samuell Gregg, writing in his book For God and Profit, pointed out that the king could call money value up or down, depending on whether the debt was owed to him, or from him. You’re welcome to notice that the government is now calling the money value DOWN, via inflation, because its debt has increased from $20 trillion to $30 trillion in just a few years.
The Great Reset
Writing in the Epoch Times recently, an article by John Mac Ghlionn is titled A Digital Dollar is Coming: Americans should be concerned. He says, “A large number of Americans still believe, somewhat naively, that cryptocurrencies are the future of finance. They’re not… central bank digital currencies are the next step in the evolution of money.”
I challenged the World Economic Forum in podcast #112 titled The Great Reset. My basic argument is that Christians believe in two great resets: 1. Christ came to earth as the god man. 2. He’s coming back. Those are two great resets. In the meantime, how are Christians expected to produce and distribute goods in a scarce environment? My work as the Christian Economist is to seek answers to that question. Unlike cryptocurrencies, which are decentralized and designed for privacy, digital currencies are centralized and public. They are, in many ways, the antithesis of cryptocurrencies; because they are NOT private.
The United State is one of over 100 countries who are looking into digital currencies. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell generally suppor...