Mr. Kust - I'm embarrassed that I missed this HT when your article first came out; I caught the headline but wasn't able at the time to read it, and mentally flagged to return to it when time allowed, which was now. We all appreciate your articles, especially as you don't push a narrative or ideology other than trying to explain and inform, using data and actual facts plus reason and history. Your community here is better for it -- I was once a paying subscriber but had to pause for the timebeing, when times allow we will return to paying. For now, we can offer up just our praises about you and thanks to you.
FWIW, the article you did recently on how the Fed essentially achieved the control mechanism we all fear via the CBDC in the form of FedNow was noteworthy, for many reasons, and it has stayed in our forethought -- often our family wonders whether the shiny trinkets the power centers flashes before us are to hide the real moves being made that we mostly miss, and your article exposed a part of that; I fear that is much else afoot we aren't watching, and we only will see it when there's no turning back.
Excellent and reassuring data - I had no idea that the amount of yuan held as reserve currency had *declined* in 2022! That’s certainly not the impression given by the main stream media. Thank you for this.
As flawed as the US government may be, I think the world’s peoples trust in US stability far more than they trust anything said or done by China’s government. As case in point, there was an article in the press a few months ago about Argentina, which was experiencing a 100% inflation rate at the time. The article said that everyone in Argentina used the US dollar as their actual currency, even taking suitcases full of American hundred-dollar bills to real estate transaction.
But a nagging question is: do you see any possible way that a switch to CBDCs could somehow upend the entire reserve currency norm, to our detriment?
The great danger is not that another fiat currency will displace the dollar, but that people will realize all at once that fiat currency by definition has no intrinsic value.
With the global economy in the state that it is, if the dollar ceases to be the global reserve currency, the result will be global financial chaos and economic anarchy. There will be no winners, only losers.
I was in high school when Nixon took us off the gold standard, and our currency became a fiat one. One of the surprises of my life is that people haven’t lost faith in the dollar (yet). I guess it’s because the dollar is backed by the ability to tax the citizens. I’ve been mystified by peoples’ enthusiasm for digital currencies such as Bitcoin, because there’s absolutely no intrinsic value to these digital creations! But yes, one of the reasons I am wary of CBDCs is that I’m afraid any attempt to transition us to them will collapse the entire house of cards, with, as you say, only losers and no winners.
Mr. Kust - I'm embarrassed that I missed this HT when your article first came out; I caught the headline but wasn't able at the time to read it, and mentally flagged to return to it when time allowed, which was now. We all appreciate your articles, especially as you don't push a narrative or ideology other than trying to explain and inform, using data and actual facts plus reason and history. Your community here is better for it -- I was once a paying subscriber but had to pause for the timebeing, when times allow we will return to paying. For now, we can offer up just our praises about you and thanks to you.
FWIW, the article you did recently on how the Fed essentially achieved the control mechanism we all fear via the CBDC in the form of FedNow was noteworthy, for many reasons, and it has stayed in our forethought -- often our family wonders whether the shiny trinkets the power centers flashes before us are to hide the real moves being made that we mostly miss, and your article exposed a part of that; I fear that is much else afoot we aren't watching, and we only will see it when there's no turning back.
God bless your work -
DT
Thank you for this. It certainly educated me. I’m also curious about the digital currency question that Gbill7 poses.
You are not alone. @MAMatt also has asked me to weigh in on CBDCs.
I think there might be one other article I need to write first. I want to build a proper foundation for the discussion.
Excellent and reassuring data - I had no idea that the amount of yuan held as reserve currency had *declined* in 2022! That’s certainly not the impression given by the main stream media. Thank you for this.
As flawed as the US government may be, I think the world’s peoples trust in US stability far more than they trust anything said or done by China’s government. As case in point, there was an article in the press a few months ago about Argentina, which was experiencing a 100% inflation rate at the time. The article said that everyone in Argentina used the US dollar as their actual currency, even taking suitcases full of American hundred-dollar bills to real estate transaction.
But a nagging question is: do you see any possible way that a switch to CBDCs could somehow upend the entire reserve currency norm, to our detriment?
The great danger is not that another fiat currency will displace the dollar, but that people will realize all at once that fiat currency by definition has no intrinsic value.
With the global economy in the state that it is, if the dollar ceases to be the global reserve currency, the result will be global financial chaos and economic anarchy. There will be no winners, only losers.
I was in high school when Nixon took us off the gold standard, and our currency became a fiat one. One of the surprises of my life is that people haven’t lost faith in the dollar (yet). I guess it’s because the dollar is backed by the ability to tax the citizens. I’ve been mystified by peoples’ enthusiasm for digital currencies such as Bitcoin, because there’s absolutely no intrinsic value to these digital creations! But yes, one of the reasons I am wary of CBDCs is that I’m afraid any attempt to transition us to them will collapse the entire house of cards, with, as you say, only losers and no winners.