Fed Official: Put Tracking Devices In US Bills
A Federal Reserve official says that tracking devices should be added to US
bills.
It's all for our own good, of course.
Marvin Goodfriend, a senior vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of
Richmond, proposes that a magnetic strip be placed on US currency.
"The magnetic strip could visibly record when a bill was last
withdrawn from the banking system," Goodfriend said in a paper presented at
a recent Federal
Reserve System conference in Vermont.
By using the information on the magnetic strip, what Goodfriend calls "a
carry tax" could be imposed on people who don't handle their money the way
the government thinks they should. The "carry tax... could be deducted from
each bill upon deposit according to how long the bill was in
circulation," Goodfriend says.
The longer you hold onto your money without putting it into a bank, the
less the money would be worth. In essence, it's a tax on storing dollar
bills outside of government institutions.
Or, as Wired News puts it, "greenbacks will get automatic expiration dates."
What's the point? Goodfriend says this will discourage hoarding (after all,
we can't just let people stuff their money into mattresses instead of using
banks), fight the Drug War and other black market activities, and give the
government a powerful new tool it can use to battle deflation.
Goodfriend says the Federal Reserve already has technology to make the
proposal entirely feasible (though he refused to give details on that
technology, according to Wired News).
"Systems would have to be put in place at banks and automatic teller machines
to read bills, assess the carry tax, and stamp the bills 'current,'"
he writes.
Congress would have to pass legislation allowing such a tax. No such
legislation has been introduced... yet.
Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas), who serves on the House Banking committee,
expressed outrage at the scheme.
"The whole idea is preposterous," Paul said. "The notion that we're going
to tax somebody because they decide to be frugal and hold a couple of
dollars is economic planning at its worst."
Such a program would give government virtually total control over the
economy and over every American's income.
One can only speculate what other uses such a magnetic strip might be put
to - especially in conjunction with "Know Your Customer"-type financial
spying legislation...
(Source: Wired News: "Cash and the 'Carry Tax'" by Declan McCullagh, Oct. 27)
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