Student indoctrination: CBDC - get hyped!

[FlyersFan]

Digital currency stuff scares me.
I don't understand it at all.

[quintessentone]

Digital currency stuff scares me.
I don't understand it at all.

I really don't either but it's rising, that's what I want to hear if I am an investor.

[Byrd]

Well my government allows money to be given as a gift to others, I would hope your government does the same.

Things certainly are changing quickly and I just watched the news yesterday on cryptocurrency rising the highest it has ever risen, and my investment antenna stood at attention. I guess I'm easily indoctrinated into new tech. and seemingly easier and better ways to do stuff...I always have been. Is that having a choice? I'm wondering if that is true now.

Yes, our government allows money to be given as a gift to others.

Cryptocurrency...bothers me simply because it's not really backed by anything.  There's a zillion types of these currencies and its worth isn't linked to anything material (as far as I can tell.)  It's like NFT's.  There's no physical thing that I can swap for something.

I've got some old German pfennigs (pennies) around here somewhere that I could sell for, say, a dollar to a kid or anyone else who wants a "neat old coin."  It will always have some sort of value as a physical object.  However, the digital-only artwork that I do will go away forever if my computer crashes and I don't have a backup or a physical print out.  And artwork that I did on computers in the early 1980's (when the tech was pretty primitive) is basically gone.  The "drawn on paper" stuff is still around, however.

I'm comfortable with the bank currencies and credit cards mainly because the entire world agrees that there's value in these transactions (the same reason that we accept some types of pieces of paper (for example, that $50 dollar bill) as being valuable.)  But the entire world doesn't agree that these cryptocurrencies have value (the Dollar Store won't take DogeCoins and currency exchanges that change money from one country's currency to another country's currency won't take them, either)

Hence, I don't really trust them.

[Maxmars]

Yes, our government allows money to be given as a gift to others.

Cryptocurrency...bothers me simply because it's not really backed by anything.  ....

Hence, I don't really trust them.

Not to diminish your salient point.  But as of this moment... no money is backed up by anything.

There is a paper show... but the bank conspired to virtualize ALL its' currencies.

CBDC simply "mimics" reality.  Virtual currency, meet virtual currency.

[Byrd]

Not to diminish your salient point.  But as of this moment... no money is backed up by anything.

There is a paper show... but the bank conspired to virtualize ALL its' currencies.

CBDC simply "mimics" reality.  Virtual currency, meet virtual currency.

I didn't want to get into it but actually all money is not really backed up by anything.  We think gold is valuable simply because we're told it's valuable... but many societies didn't value it that highly (in Egypt, for example, silver was often seen as more valuable than gold because silver was the bones of the gods - https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/silv/h...en%20flesh).)

So... money has value because the global society decides it has value.  National gold bank notes WERE currency but are now just pretty pieces of paper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gold_Bank_Note

In parts of Papua New Guinea, shells are still used as currency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_money

(and here we go down the rabbit hole!!)

[glen200376]

I think it's kind of overblown.

Our purchases are already tracked through credit cards, cash registers... everything else.  You're here on the Internet and believe me, EVERYONE is spying on you (cookies, what websites you interact with, etc, etc.)

If you are truly concerned about tracking, I recommend as the first step to ditch your phone completely, move to a tent (no fixed address), abandon your computer and any access to the Internet, sell your car (or motorcycle... bicycle would be fine, however), quit your job, clean out your bank accounts, and sever ties with your family and friends.  Avoid medical care, avoid entertainment venues, don't buy weapons or ammunition or alcohol.  Don't buy anything... but don't steal.

All of those create some kind of record.

And no, I'm not kidding.  Maintain any of those and someone, somewhere (or some government) will be able to track you.  Easily.

OR (again, not kidding), create TOO MUCH DATA.  That's what I do.  My browsers can't decide if I'm male, female, what age I am, etc, etc.  Change your name (legally) to something very common (like John Smith or Jane Brown) and gender neutral (like Pat Taylor). My husband, children, and I have very common names and as a writer (and advocate for several disabled friends) I search all sorts of bizarre things.  Use multiple credit cards... and pay off one, then ditch it for a different one.

Humans have always lived in a world of "too many nosy-parkers."  Ancient people knew who was having sex with whom (because they lived together) and everyone gossiped and got involved in the lives of others.  Governments back then knew even more about you because the world was so much smaller.

The trick is to not freak out about things and do ineffective changes (like not using digital currency when everyone else is using it.  That calls attention to you.  A LOT of attention.)  Pretend to be normal-like-everyone-else.

That's the best disguise.

Are you Justin Castro?Don't worry about it,it's fine.
Complicit or compliant?

[Meta Michael]

I think it's kind of overblown.

Our purchases are already tracked through credit cards, cash registers... everything else.  You're here on the Internet and believe me, EVERYONE is spying on you (cookies, what websites you interact with, etc, etc.)

If you are truly concerned about tracking, I recommend as the first step to ditch your phone completely, move to a tent (no fixed address), abandon your computer and any access to the Internet, sell your car (or motorcycle... bicycle would be fine, however), quit your job, clean out your bank accounts, and sever ties with your family and friends.  Avoid medical care, avoid entertainment venues, don't buy weapons or ammunition or alcohol.  Don't buy anything... but don't steal.

All of those create some kind of record.

And no, I'm not kidding.  Maintain any of those and someone, somewhere (or some government) will be able to track you.  Easily.

OR (again, not kidding), create TOO MUCH DATA.  That's what I do.  My browsers can't decide if I'm male, female, what age I am, etc, etc.  Change your name (legally) to something very common (like John Smith or Jane Brown) and gender neutral (like Pat Taylor). My husband, children, and I have very common names and as a writer (and advocate for several disabled friends) I search all sorts of bizarre things.  Use multiple credit cards... and pay off one, then ditch it for a different one.

Humans have always lived in a world of "too many nosy-parkers."  Ancient people knew who was having sex with whom (because they lived together) and everyone gossiped and got involved in the lives of others.  Governments back then knew even more about you because the world was so much smaller.

The trick is to not freak out about things and do ineffective changes (like not using digital currency when everyone else is using it.  That calls attention to you.  A LOT of attention.)  Pretend to be normal-like-everyone-else.

That's the best disguise.

It's nothing to do with tracking - it's that they can shut you down faster & more completely with CBDCs than they can currently.  CBDCs will enable total, unassailable control over the ability to transact, anywhere at any time, and if they decide to unperson you, the act will take a mere click of a button & everything will be shut down, instantly.