I received this alarming e-mail from a reader called STONE03: "UrbanMan you need to understand that the government is bringing in foreign troops to start martial law. I think the Government is going to use Homeland security and the foreign troops because the US military would be unreliable enforcing martial law and confiscating guns. Go to this link at Before It's News to see the latest breaking news on foreign troops ALREADY in this country! You need to get the word out and put it on your site. OUT STONE03."
UrbanMan replies: Okay Stone, I'm posting it now. I went to the provided link. Bottom line is I know some of it is total bullshit and I suspect all of it is. For the reader here is what is being reported on Before It's News:
"DHS armored vehicles being delivered from Kentucky to Tennessee. What makes this interesting is that the drivers were not AMERICAN military, but rather FOREIGN military troops driving these vehicles."
"When American people spoke to these foreign drivers, they detected they were either Russian or Eastern European/Slavic in background. Many Americans are wondering what this is all about."
"I will tell you exactly what this is all about, from years of research across America, and traveling to Europe to uncover more of the role of foreign troops in America's grim future."
"After I heard that Holloman AFB in Alamogordo, NM, had been turned over to the GERMAN BUNDESWEHR LUFTWAFFE (German Air Force) for their military use and training of German pilots, I decided to go down to Alamogordo to see what was unfolding."
"Six weeks were spent in interviewing both American and German troops in Alamogordo. I also went live on radio with Mike Shinaberry to discuss martial law in America and the role of foreign troops, including German troops. My book then in print, "PREMONITIONS OF AN AMERICAN HOLOCAUST," was also being distributed at that time there. IN fact, the Germans sent one of their military men to purchase a copy of my book at the radio station."
"I came away from that sobering experience very enlightened...and also shaken. I remember thinking, "SO it IS true...everything I have been reading about the NWO and martial law!"
"German military were actually bragging at times to the Americans, that they were indeed there for martial law. One German military officer informed a Christian group out for Sunday buffet after church, that they were there to do the dirty work that the American troops did not want to do to their fellow Americans under martial law."
UrbanMan again: The German Air Force and their Air Defense Missile people have been in the U.S. training, in a permanent fashion, for something like 40 years! I understand that the U.S. Army is moving their Air Defense center to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. So again, the German Air Force has been in this country for decades.
As far as the information -"What makes this interesting is that the drivers were not AMERICAN military, but rather FOREIGN military troops driving these vehicles." - If the government was trying to smuggle in foreign troops to enact martial law, do you think they would have them readily recognizable as foreign troops?
As far as this quote: "German military were actually bragging at times to the Americans, that they were indeed there for martial law. One German military officer informed a Christian group out for Sunday buffet after church, that they were there to do the dirty work that the American troops did not want to do to their fellow Americans under martial law." - Are you kidding me? If the German military actually said that to someone, they were feeding that person's ignorance. As for the speech in church, who actually heard it? I'll bet that was totally fabricated.
For sure, DHS (Homeland Security) is doing some strange and suspicious things, like the humongous ammunition purchase and the fielding of Mine Resistant Vehicles (MRAP's). As to the MRAP's they are surplus from the military. From a few of my DHS contacts, they say there are plans to use them at the land ports of entry where immigrants and visitors come through in case there is a "rush" through there, as well as for situations like Hurricane Katrina to protect relief and rescue employees.
I don't know Stone,...maybe I'm trying to be too reasonable. Maybe I am wearing rose colored glasses,.....I know there are way too many situations to prepare to survive without having foreign troop enacted martial law being the main threat!!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Gold and Silver Prices Sliding - Chance for Preppers
The current slide of Gold (and Silver) prices which now appear at this post time to be possibly be inching up again, nor reports of Gold scarcity from purchases by foreign governments (read Chinese among others) have nothing to do with the Survivalist's need to have some gold and silver on hand as an essential component of their collapse plan. Let me say that again,....all the hoopla around Gold and Silver, .....as investments, as hedges against inflation, or to protect against deflation of the dollar have nothing to do with the the need for preppers to have some precious metals on hand, be it gold and/or silver bullion, and/or coins for silver melt value just to have some type of buying power after a economic or financial collapse.
It has been reported by several respected financial analysts that China and India alone account for almost 80% of the annual Gold purchases. Add in Russia's new focus on building national wealth through Gold purchases does not leave much for the rest of the world. There have also been reports that the U.S. is vastly overstating the Gold Reserves that the Federal government holds. Nice! In some minds this makes it more likely that the U.S. Government will develop some sort of regulation on physical precious metal holdings and even a confiscation program under the guise of national security, a la F.D.R.
In my mind, damaged as it is, I draw a difference between a economic collapse and a financial collapse. In short, an economic collapse would be commodities driven with shortages (fuels and food among others) and skyrocketing prices driving food riots and the projected government attempts to control the mess. On the other hand a financial collapse would be a collapse of the dollar, a tanking of Wall Street reminisance of the Great Depression, or a possible attack on our banking systems and networks.
I don't expect many people to agree with me on the above definitions, but that's how I have to cateogorize these real threats in my mind and in my speech to predict possible scenarios.
Back to Gold and Silver. So again, the market forces, large foreign government buys and investment advice all have nothing to do with the need for the totally prepared survivalist to have physical gold and/or silver on hand as purchasing power if and when the dollar holds no more value, or is even perceived to hold no more value and people will refuse to accept it for transactions.
I fully realize that most people cannot buy Gold as it is prohibitive expensive to buy much if any at all. Gold closed on Friday 19 April at $1,392.70 an ounce while Silver closed $23.30, so Silver is the poor or average man's precious metal.
Two of the questions I get asked the most regarding keeping cash and precious metals on hand, are:
"How much cash should I keep on hand?"
Well how much can you afford to keep on hand? I know a guy who, every two weeks at payday, takes all his money out of the bank except for the mandatory minimum enough to pay bills. While I don't advocate this, I do admire this guy for the committment he has, as he has been doing this for three years now. No telling how much cash he has at home! And no, you can't have his address.
I believe that upon the imminent and actual collapse of fiat currency there will be people accepting cash for a short period of time,...until food runs out or until it is clear that fiat currency won't be making a comeback anytime soon.
Just like noted financial guru Dave Ramsey advocates an emergency fund, I just think this emergency fund should be partially kept at home if you can take measures to safe guard it.
"How much precious metals should I keep on hand"?
Again, how much can you afford? I have a very small amount of gold. SIlver is the poor man's precious metal and taking last week's closing price of $23.30 and not counting the premium you pay for rounds or bars, 100 ounces would cost you $2,330.00
Starting from nothing, if you bought 2 to 4 ounces a month after a year's time you would be a quarter to half way towards 100 ounces. I think that's a decent target goal. If you can afford mre then go for it. That advantage of buying small amounts at local sources, and paying cash, would keep you under the radar for both robbery and confiscation,...sorry about being redundant,..I should have just said robbery.
So just like that AR-15 you have in the closet and hope to never use for real, Gold and Silver fill an emergency need as well. Consider putting some away.
It has been reported by several respected financial analysts that China and India alone account for almost 80% of the annual Gold purchases. Add in Russia's new focus on building national wealth through Gold purchases does not leave much for the rest of the world. There have also been reports that the U.S. is vastly overstating the Gold Reserves that the Federal government holds. Nice! In some minds this makes it more likely that the U.S. Government will develop some sort of regulation on physical precious metal holdings and even a confiscation program under the guise of national security, a la F.D.R.
In my mind, damaged as it is, I draw a difference between a economic collapse and a financial collapse. In short, an economic collapse would be commodities driven with shortages (fuels and food among others) and skyrocketing prices driving food riots and the projected government attempts to control the mess. On the other hand a financial collapse would be a collapse of the dollar, a tanking of Wall Street reminisance of the Great Depression, or a possible attack on our banking systems and networks.
I don't expect many people to agree with me on the above definitions, but that's how I have to cateogorize these real threats in my mind and in my speech to predict possible scenarios.
Back to Gold and Silver. So again, the market forces, large foreign government buys and investment advice all have nothing to do with the need for the totally prepared survivalist to have physical gold and/or silver on hand as purchasing power if and when the dollar holds no more value, or is even perceived to hold no more value and people will refuse to accept it for transactions.
I fully realize that most people cannot buy Gold as it is prohibitive expensive to buy much if any at all. Gold closed on Friday 19 April at $1,392.70 an ounce while Silver closed $23.30, so Silver is the poor or average man's precious metal.
Two of the questions I get asked the most regarding keeping cash and precious metals on hand, are:
"How much cash should I keep on hand?"
Well how much can you afford to keep on hand? I know a guy who, every two weeks at payday, takes all his money out of the bank except for the mandatory minimum enough to pay bills. While I don't advocate this, I do admire this guy for the committment he has, as he has been doing this for three years now. No telling how much cash he has at home! And no, you can't have his address.
I believe that upon the imminent and actual collapse of fiat currency there will be people accepting cash for a short period of time,...until food runs out or until it is clear that fiat currency won't be making a comeback anytime soon.
Just like noted financial guru Dave Ramsey advocates an emergency fund, I just think this emergency fund should be partially kept at home if you can take measures to safe guard it.
"How much precious metals should I keep on hand"?
Again, how much can you afford? I have a very small amount of gold. SIlver is the poor man's precious metal and taking last week's closing price of $23.30 and not counting the premium you pay for rounds or bars, 100 ounces would cost you $2,330.00
Starting from nothing, if you bought 2 to 4 ounces a month after a year's time you would be a quarter to half way towards 100 ounces. I think that's a decent target goal. If you can afford mre then go for it. That advantage of buying small amounts at local sources, and paying cash, would keep you under the radar for both robbery and confiscation,...sorry about being redundant,..I should have just said robbery.
So just like that AR-15 you have in the closet and hope to never use for real, Gold and Silver fill an emergency need as well. Consider putting some away.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Will New Executive Orders on Guns Affect Preppers?
Gun Violence Reduction Executive Actions:
1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.
UrbanMan Comment: This could open the door to two way information sharing and a de facto registration of gun owners and could potentially also link these gun owners to specific gun purchases.
2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.
UrbanMan Comment: This may be chip away at privacy act issues relating to medical conditions, problems, procedures and medications. This may be part of a larger net cast to collect information that can be clasified as derogatory in nature and lead to restrictions on gun buying for these individuals.
3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.
UrbanMan Comment: Just leave the States alone....and the people while you are at it.
4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.
UrbanMan Comment: So is this just a study? or will Eric Holder's list of dislikeables become "persons prohibited from owning guns"?
5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.
UrbanMan Comment: I don't have a problem with a background check on owners of record before stolen or recovered guns are turned back over to the indivdual, but I think what this directive means if guns are seized from and individual are are cleared for return to the owner, then a background check wil have to be done, which of course will show that the owner had been arrestt (not convicted) and guns seized, therefore failing a background check - this is a potential Catch 22.
6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.
UrbanMan Comment: This is a pretty troublesome directive. Does this mean that there will come about a regulation or prohibition on private sales unless ran through a licensed gun dealer? Is this in regards to a private sellers being required to get a background check for the private sale to another private citizen? If so, how is this going to be enforced?
7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.
UrbanMan Comment: You know this won't be done with an input from gun organizations like the NRA or NSSF, so I'm wrroed about the liberal spin on it which can continue the general theme that guns are bad.
8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).
UrbanMan Comment: We all know the best gun safety is a trained and responsible gun owner who keeps his finger off the trigger until he/she is sure of their target.
9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.
UrbanMan Comment: What? This is already being accomplished as an essential part of any investigation involving guns. It is determined when and to what distributor the manufacturer ships the guns to and from there to what seller (gun shop or national sporting good chain). Law enforcement has a timeline on when the gun could have been sold and queries the seller on who bought the gun. This provides an investigative lead and that end user is questioned on the question of that gun and possible disposal through private sale or even theft.
10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.
11. Nominate an ATF director.
UrbanMan Comment: I think Senator Diane Feinstein would make a good ATF Director. She seeming knows a lot about guns.
12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.
13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.
UrbanMan Comment: Does this include prosecuting the actors and decision makers of "Fast and Furious".
14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.
UrbanMan Comment: I'll save CDC the time and save the government the money,....causes of gun violence are criminals. Prevention is more complicated,.....triple the penalites for use of a gun in a crime and pass national right to concealed carry.
15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effectiveuse of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.
UrbanMan Comment: Oh here we go again,....voice recognition gun safeties,.....magnet ring safety deactivators,.........20 lbs triggers,..........keys to lock or unlock firing mechanisms.
16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.
UrbanMan Comment: Doctors may have the "right' to question their patients about guns in their homes, according to Obamacare, but to what purpose? To determine the basis for approved or disapproved care? There are basicaly two choices in answering this line of questioning,..."Nope, no guns in the house" - whether it's true or not,....or,...."That's none of your damn business Doc!". Oh excuse me, I guess there is another way to answer this question........"Guns in my house? I don't have ENOUGH guns in my house."
17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.
UrbanMan Comment: There needs to be some sort of standards and penalities so that Health Care providers won't be tempted to make reckless reports.
18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.
UrbanMan Comment: I would like to see armed school resource officers at all schools as I think if children are not our most valuable resource, then what is?
19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.
UrbanMan Comment: The government does not do well in planning especially in the realm of security related issues as well evident by the Benghazi consulate debacle. I say let the Government stick to what it knows best and that is spending money.
20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.
UrbanMan Comment: Here we go again,...getting into the states' business. But it really makes no never mind as all the increased taxes, increased but under reported unemployment, decreased productivity and manufacturing, inflation and national debt are going to make Medicaid (and all other forms of entitlements and welfare) mute when the economic collapse begins.
21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.
22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.
23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.
Forbes.com comment: It does not appear that any of the executive orders would have any impact on the guns people currently own-or would like to purchase- and that all proposals regarding limiting the availability of assault weapons or large ammunition magazines will be proposed for Congressional action. As such, any potential effort to create a constitutional crisis—or the leveling of charges that the White House has overstepped its executive authority—would hold no validity.
UrbanMan Comment: About time to buy that M1A Scout rifle I've been looking at.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
How Will a Cashless Society Affect Survivalists?
This is part of an article entitled "Winds Of Digital Change" by Bob Rinear, that was sent to me by a retired investment banker who is now an avowed prepper moving from the North to establish a home in Northern Arizona awaiting what he believes is the economic collapse of America. I am posting this to stimulate thought on how a cashless society can effect our ability to prepare to survive. I'm not too worried about having digital money after a economical or financial collapse as digital money will give way to barter or dealing in preciuous metals - hence the need to own physical gold and silver - but the longer we live in a cashless society, the greater of an impact, a negative impact, it will have on our preparations.
There's absolutely no doubt that at some point in the future, they are going to abandon the idea of "cash" and all transactions will be done with a swipe.
Consider "money" for a while. It has been around in one form or another for thousands of years. When the first coinage was used to "buy" goods instead of using the barter system, there's no doubt that several things happened. One is that it became stupendously easier to get what you wanted or needed. But by association it creates a massive boom in "business". For instance let us suppose you were the farmer and you had hundreds of cows and steer. Well you might want to get a pair of pants or some boots. But the shoemaker didn't want a milk cow or a steer. So you guys couldn't do a lot of business and your feet still hurt. Once the concept of using coins (lets just say currency) really took hold, you could buy your pants and boots from the Shoe maker, and the house builder could "buy" your cows and meats. The velocity of business increased exponentially. Expanding that, all forms of increasing "good" took place.
People could "buy" books and pay tuition to schools. They could easily pay for musicians to play for their parties, etc. Education exploded, the arts became more widely accepted.
Money was a darned good thing.
Then of course there came a time when they figured out that carrying gold around was a bit of a pain, and the first concepts of "currency based on gold" was issued. This was the first good stabs at "currency". The idea being you'd use a slip of paper with a number on it as your vehicle to buy something. The paper "note" would correspond to an amount of gold you could exchange the note for if you wished. While many credit the Europeans for coming up with this and to some extent they were very important as to it's ultimate adoption, the Chinese began the practice 2000 years ago.
The Song Dynasty in China was the first to issue paper money, called "jiaozi", around the 10th century AD. Although the notes were valued at a certain exchange rate for gold, silver, or silk, conversion was never allowed in practice. Then, the successive Yuan Dynasty tried again and was the first dynasty in China to use paper currency as the predominant circulating medium. The founder of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan, issued paper money known as Chao in his reign. The original notes during the Yuan Dynasty were restricted in both area and duration as in the Song Dynasty. (notice that even today most will call the Chinese currency the "yuan" instead of the Renminbi which is its actual official name).
Of course you all know that here in the states President Nixon closed the "gold window" which basically severed our currency from any backing what so ever. We became "fiat" meaning that our currency was only backed by Uncle Sam saying it has value. It couldn't be exchanged at the banks for gold any more. Since that time, we've seen all manner of things happen, just as they have in the past. They PRINTED ever more gobs of the stuff. Well guess what? We've seen all that before. All of it.
The Romans printed money, the Greeks, the Argentineans, the Germans, you name it. All through history they have printed more money than they had "metal" (gold or silver) to back it and it always ended badly. It has only been in the past 45 years that we've embarked on what amounts to a completely "fiat" global situation. No one's money is backed by anything any more. This is new.
We have to ask the question, what happens when they push us into a completely digital cash-less society? We know that when we went from barter to "money" our societies saw a massive increase in activity. We know that when we went to a "currency backed by money" system the entire world experienced the biggest growth spurt the planet had ever seen. But in the last 40 years we've gone to a "currency backed by nothing" system and we're seeing that groan and creak because of the abuses of printing too much of it. Not to mention the downsides of theft, extortion, illegal activity, etc. It is a failure, and they know it. The system will be revamped.
So consider this. At "some" point, even if the so-called currency of the future is indeed backed by some percentage of gold, there will be NO PAPER MONEY. Every transaction will be a card swipe, a smart phone pass, etc.
So there it is folks. At some point in our not too distant future, the idea of "cash" will be tossed in the garbage bin. Everything you do will be recorded digitally. Now we have to try and figure out just how that affects us. For some the effects will be quite large. Consider the drug dealer. He plies his trade in the dark and uses cash. Well if there's no cash in our system, how does he get paid? Consider all the "under the table" folks. You know, the guy that cuts ten of his neighbors lawns each weekend for 30 bucks cash. How does he get paid now? If it is all digital, there's a trail, a completely unbroken trail. He can't hide that from the IRS any more.
Consider anything you buy. Did you think you'd be slick when you were cheating on your spouse by buying him/her gifts with cash? No longer, now the wife would be able to find those "charges". In fact, if Uncle Sam is dead set on knowing every single thing about you, then a cash less society is his orgasmic fantasy. But what I want to know is this... what is the resultant effect on the economy? Will sales rise because you can swipe faster than you can trade cash and wait for change? Will jobs be created because it will no longer benefit someone to hire someone else "under the table", or will the percentage of poor explode because those folks will not be utilized anymore?
As much as a cash society is flush with the ability for abuse, how does one measure the "good" that hidden transactions represent? I have found no logical way to explore it to be honest with you. But I know that there have been times in my life where I've "lent" some money to someone, where it bailed them out of a tough jam, and it would have been disaster if they had to let others know they "needed" the funding.
There's been other times where just handing my table waitress an extra tip, brought us service above and beyond the normal. What is the ancillary effect of moving cash around that isn't attached to a digital string? How does one give their kids an allowance, or pay the neighbor kid for shoveling your driveway? How many businesses were built in America by someone with dogged determination starting out by going door to door selling cookies or shoveling snow? Would all those kids be forever pushed out of the budding entrepreneurial pool?
How big is the Bureaucracy going to be that tries to watch over all that digital snow? Who's the Government troll that will dissect all the digital payments you make? Is not Government intervention in our lives at a level we already see as abusive? Then we have the security side of it all. What happens when there's the "glitch" like we've seen lately, where you log in and your bank account shows "0" in it? You can't even buy a gallon of milk until you get that account fixed, how long does that take? Then consider the implications for "them" to completely stop you in your tracks. If cash is not accepted for any good or service, the Government can absolutely crush you simply by shutting off your "digital account". Think about it deeply folks because the implications for abuse boggle the mind.
I have thought a lot about this over the past few months as I see more and more digital card readers pop up in every area of our lives. You see commercials for readers you pop onto your phone so you can swipe cards wherever you are. You saw the beginning of it when years ago McDonalds put card readers in their outlets. Now it's Starbucks and virtually every convenience store. The march towards a completely digital world is marching forward and picking up steam. Just 40 years ago the concept would have been science fiction. Today it is not only reality, it is roaring forward.
From where I sit, it is my opinion that right now all of this digital money is being seen as a benefit. That is because it "supplements" the status quo, it "adds" to your ability to do business. But, once the hammer falls and it is "law", I see a much different picture. I see disruptions in so many areas, that the "net net" of it all is very negative. It is the ultimate "big brother" eye in the sky. With that in mind, it "has" to stifle economic activity.
Let me leave you with this thought. Imagine a major drug dealer in say Miami. While selling drugs is clearly illegal, and many people are hurt by it (the drug user, turf wars, etc.) the fact is that the millions made by the dealer and his gang is spent. Homes are built, cars are sold, pools installed, travel booked, etc. Despite the creation of the cash being illegal, the resultant spending of the cash is "good" for the economy. A digital society could put the dealer out of business, which is good. But the businesses that would have benefitted from that dealer spending his illegal gains is hurt, which is bad.
Which one will end up having more societal impact? It is a troubling question.
Governments are broke and they're on a wild hunt for tax income and tracing money is their game. Digital money makes it easy. Just this week we see news that the IRS is allowed to read personal emails. We saw news stating that they inspect Facebook and twitter for hints that you might have more money than you're stating. Digital dollars is their golden goose and thus it will be implemented. We all have to understand that, and decide what it means to each of us. I can't tell you the day, but there's no doubt in my mind that it will happen in the next ten years. A long time you say? Nope, just the blink of an eye, ask my great grand mom, she'll tell you.
There's absolutely no doubt that at some point in the future, they are going to abandon the idea of "cash" and all transactions will be done with a swipe.
Consider "money" for a while. It has been around in one form or another for thousands of years. When the first coinage was used to "buy" goods instead of using the barter system, there's no doubt that several things happened. One is that it became stupendously easier to get what you wanted or needed. But by association it creates a massive boom in "business". For instance let us suppose you were the farmer and you had hundreds of cows and steer. Well you might want to get a pair of pants or some boots. But the shoemaker didn't want a milk cow or a steer. So you guys couldn't do a lot of business and your feet still hurt. Once the concept of using coins (lets just say currency) really took hold, you could buy your pants and boots from the Shoe maker, and the house builder could "buy" your cows and meats. The velocity of business increased exponentially. Expanding that, all forms of increasing "good" took place.
People could "buy" books and pay tuition to schools. They could easily pay for musicians to play for their parties, etc. Education exploded, the arts became more widely accepted.
Money was a darned good thing.
Then of course there came a time when they figured out that carrying gold around was a bit of a pain, and the first concepts of "currency based on gold" was issued. This was the first good stabs at "currency". The idea being you'd use a slip of paper with a number on it as your vehicle to buy something. The paper "note" would correspond to an amount of gold you could exchange the note for if you wished. While many credit the Europeans for coming up with this and to some extent they were very important as to it's ultimate adoption, the Chinese began the practice 2000 years ago.
The Song Dynasty in China was the first to issue paper money, called "jiaozi", around the 10th century AD. Although the notes were valued at a certain exchange rate for gold, silver, or silk, conversion was never allowed in practice. Then, the successive Yuan Dynasty tried again and was the first dynasty in China to use paper currency as the predominant circulating medium. The founder of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan, issued paper money known as Chao in his reign. The original notes during the Yuan Dynasty were restricted in both area and duration as in the Song Dynasty. (notice that even today most will call the Chinese currency the "yuan" instead of the Renminbi which is its actual official name).
Of course you all know that here in the states President Nixon closed the "gold window" which basically severed our currency from any backing what so ever. We became "fiat" meaning that our currency was only backed by Uncle Sam saying it has value. It couldn't be exchanged at the banks for gold any more. Since that time, we've seen all manner of things happen, just as they have in the past. They PRINTED ever more gobs of the stuff. Well guess what? We've seen all that before. All of it.
The Romans printed money, the Greeks, the Argentineans, the Germans, you name it. All through history they have printed more money than they had "metal" (gold or silver) to back it and it always ended badly. It has only been in the past 45 years that we've embarked on what amounts to a completely "fiat" global situation. No one's money is backed by anything any more. This is new.
We have to ask the question, what happens when they push us into a completely digital cash-less society? We know that when we went from barter to "money" our societies saw a massive increase in activity. We know that when we went to a "currency backed by money" system the entire world experienced the biggest growth spurt the planet had ever seen. But in the last 40 years we've gone to a "currency backed by nothing" system and we're seeing that groan and creak because of the abuses of printing too much of it. Not to mention the downsides of theft, extortion, illegal activity, etc. It is a failure, and they know it. The system will be revamped.
So consider this. At "some" point, even if the so-called currency of the future is indeed backed by some percentage of gold, there will be NO PAPER MONEY. Every transaction will be a card swipe, a smart phone pass, etc.
So there it is folks. At some point in our not too distant future, the idea of "cash" will be tossed in the garbage bin. Everything you do will be recorded digitally. Now we have to try and figure out just how that affects us. For some the effects will be quite large. Consider the drug dealer. He plies his trade in the dark and uses cash. Well if there's no cash in our system, how does he get paid? Consider all the "under the table" folks. You know, the guy that cuts ten of his neighbors lawns each weekend for 30 bucks cash. How does he get paid now? If it is all digital, there's a trail, a completely unbroken trail. He can't hide that from the IRS any more.
Consider anything you buy. Did you think you'd be slick when you were cheating on your spouse by buying him/her gifts with cash? No longer, now the wife would be able to find those "charges". In fact, if Uncle Sam is dead set on knowing every single thing about you, then a cash less society is his orgasmic fantasy. But what I want to know is this... what is the resultant effect on the economy? Will sales rise because you can swipe faster than you can trade cash and wait for change? Will jobs be created because it will no longer benefit someone to hire someone else "under the table", or will the percentage of poor explode because those folks will not be utilized anymore?
As much as a cash society is flush with the ability for abuse, how does one measure the "good" that hidden transactions represent? I have found no logical way to explore it to be honest with you. But I know that there have been times in my life where I've "lent" some money to someone, where it bailed them out of a tough jam, and it would have been disaster if they had to let others know they "needed" the funding.
There's been other times where just handing my table waitress an extra tip, brought us service above and beyond the normal. What is the ancillary effect of moving cash around that isn't attached to a digital string? How does one give their kids an allowance, or pay the neighbor kid for shoveling your driveway? How many businesses were built in America by someone with dogged determination starting out by going door to door selling cookies or shoveling snow? Would all those kids be forever pushed out of the budding entrepreneurial pool?
How big is the Bureaucracy going to be that tries to watch over all that digital snow? Who's the Government troll that will dissect all the digital payments you make? Is not Government intervention in our lives at a level we already see as abusive? Then we have the security side of it all. What happens when there's the "glitch" like we've seen lately, where you log in and your bank account shows "0" in it? You can't even buy a gallon of milk until you get that account fixed, how long does that take? Then consider the implications for "them" to completely stop you in your tracks. If cash is not accepted for any good or service, the Government can absolutely crush you simply by shutting off your "digital account". Think about it deeply folks because the implications for abuse boggle the mind.
I have thought a lot about this over the past few months as I see more and more digital card readers pop up in every area of our lives. You see commercials for readers you pop onto your phone so you can swipe cards wherever you are. You saw the beginning of it when years ago McDonalds put card readers in their outlets. Now it's Starbucks and virtually every convenience store. The march towards a completely digital world is marching forward and picking up steam. Just 40 years ago the concept would have been science fiction. Today it is not only reality, it is roaring forward.
From where I sit, it is my opinion that right now all of this digital money is being seen as a benefit. That is because it "supplements" the status quo, it "adds" to your ability to do business. But, once the hammer falls and it is "law", I see a much different picture. I see disruptions in so many areas, that the "net net" of it all is very negative. It is the ultimate "big brother" eye in the sky. With that in mind, it "has" to stifle economic activity.
Let me leave you with this thought. Imagine a major drug dealer in say Miami. While selling drugs is clearly illegal, and many people are hurt by it (the drug user, turf wars, etc.) the fact is that the millions made by the dealer and his gang is spent. Homes are built, cars are sold, pools installed, travel booked, etc. Despite the creation of the cash being illegal, the resultant spending of the cash is "good" for the economy. A digital society could put the dealer out of business, which is good. But the businesses that would have benefitted from that dealer spending his illegal gains is hurt, which is bad.
Which one will end up having more societal impact? It is a troubling question.
Governments are broke and they're on a wild hunt for tax income and tracing money is their game. Digital money makes it easy. Just this week we see news that the IRS is allowed to read personal emails. We saw news stating that they inspect Facebook and twitter for hints that you might have more money than you're stating. Digital dollars is their golden goose and thus it will be implemented. We all have to understand that, and decide what it means to each of us. I can't tell you the day, but there's no doubt in my mind that it will happen in the next ten years. A long time you say? Nope, just the blink of an eye, ask my great grand mom, she'll tell you.
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