James Gordon Brown is a British politician who was the Prime Minister from June 2007 to May 2010 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Gordon has floated the Marxist Balloon for all we hear about now is eliminating physical money. Those who have ever worked in government NEVER see themselves as the problem – it is always us. So what is the Marxist Balloon? People not immediately in power float an idea so the government can gauge how the press and the people take it. If it goes badly, they say he is speaking personally. If it is not attacked, they float the policy. This is what Gordon Brown has just done.
Brown is now advocating the ultimate communist state for as Chairman of the Labour Party, he now advocates eliminating cash which will allow the government to control all money and therefore ELIMINATE the boom & bust cycle. This is what I have been deeply afraid of. We are headed into a dark age of authoritarianism from which Western Civilization will come to an end as we know it.
There is ABSOLUTELY zero historical precedent whatsoever to claim eliminating money will eliminate the boom bust cycle for that is PRECISELY the theory of Karl Marx. Marx was proven dead wrong, but only after his theory resulted in wars, revolutions, and millions upon millions of people dead. Communism failed to end the business cycle, which Brown is advocating once again. Government should control all money and credit, which is precisely the foundation of Marxism.
Those whose career is government NEVER see the problem as themselves – it is always the people. This very idea led to the deaths of so many millions of people. No idea has EVER been more destructive in history than this very theory. We are staring into the abyss and if these people get their way, there will be nothing left for our society. This is the dark side of 2017. This idea could led to massive civil unrest and revolutions no less international war. These people are incapable of reform. It is always only about them clinging to power. They know socialism is collapsing and the only way to stop the collapse of the banking system is to seize all assets and eliminate cash so there can be no bank runs. This is the ultimate crisis in democracy. We are losing all freedom – everything. They want it all.
This is simple: Power vs Liberty.
I recently read (here?) that one theory of the collapse of Mayan Civilization is that the cost of maintaining its “elites” (the Powerful) rose to the point where it choked the system.
All of human collective experience is a vast pendulum, swinging back and forth from one extreme to the other. Perhaps the greatest of all pendulums is Power vs Liberty (i.e., Coercive Accumulation of Property vs Voluntary Production & Trade leading to Accumulation of Property.)
Bastiat said it best: There are but TWO ways to obtain what you need to live: production and trade, or the “POLITICAL MEANS,” by which he meant THEFT.
Power = Theft.
Liberty = voluntary production & trade
Those grown fat on Power will murder us all to keep it. They are scorpions, whose nature is to sting and kill EVEN IF THEY DIE AS WELL, just as explained in the ancient fable of the Frog and the Scorpion.
There is nothing new under the sun. People have known since prehistory that Power attracts scorpions. We are always ruled by scorpions. Always.
Anyone, be it economist or politician (or do I repeat myself) who espouses the notion of eliminating cash should be deemed untouchable.
They should be henceforth figuratively RADIOACTIVE, shunned by all right-thinking people.
All media sources that report on “ending cash” in a favorable light should be boycotted ENTIRELY.
I think it’s going to happen. If not in the US , somewhere else first.
The U.S. would have the most to gain in terms of tax revenue as people would rush to deposit money in their account as fast as possible. Since many of those dollars are offshore many would be trapped. And those who had too many dollars and couldn’t spend it fast enough would be trapped.
The mere threat by the government would at least temporarily cause the velocity of money to skyrocket. Inflation would shoot through the roof and no bank would lend long term.
So let’s play this out. Cash is eliminated and all transactions are electronic. Then an EMP or CME happens and electricity is history. How does one transact business? We’re back to gold/silver or barter. Excellent!
Underground economy is best economy. Hope Gordon doesn’t need that VAT income too badly.