Scenarios
- A card or phone is so much more convenient
- Only criminals need cash
One-liners
- At least you get to decide what to spend it on
In-brief
Digital money is not just credit card swipes or Apple/Googlepay - these are really just the conventional methods digitised.
A fundamental change is being discussed - if everything is digital why not have one bank, the 'Bank of England' holding all the accounts for everyone, maybe through other banks as fronts, but essentially they will know exactly what all your money is spent on and will know all sources of income too.
The government might then decide to control the sale of certain items eg fats or alcohol - for your health... You might get to the checkout and find the scanner won't work on the chocolate.
You may be stopped from buying certain goods if you have a reduced 'social credit' (as in China) eg if you have some sort of criminal record or are in a proscribed group, like a church, or not having had the vaccine. The amount of a commodity may be capped: petrol or another energy source or your travel may be restricted.
You might find your savings being borrowed by the government.
These restrictions are draconian but may be bought in on the back of financial or other crises, 'to protect the economy'.
So we need to argue for containment of powers to stop any one group from gaining control of the wealth of the nation. As the land of Israel was divided between 12 tribes (and many families) so a nation's resources need to be held in many hands.
Alternative currencies will inevitably develop even if prohibited. These should be encouraged and kept mainstream.
Excessive government (and personal) debt should be protested even in the face of medium-term pain, and sound economic practices adopted so that there is no need for crisis measures.
Jubilee Centre Economist Dr Paul Mills explains more.
Shield verses
- But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
1 Cron 29:14