http://www.y2knewswire.com/19991028.asp

Fed V.P. Wants Tracking Technology Embedded in U.S. Currency/U>
A Senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has now proposed that Americans be penalized for carrying cash, that tracking information be recorded on every dollar, and that perhaps the Fed should prevent Americans from withdrawing cash altogether. Banker Paranoia has reached new heights...

October 28, 1999

Y2K watchers knew this was coming: the attempt at making cash illegal. Now the Federal Reserve has taken the first step towards that Police State policy by suggesting that U.S. currency should include tracking information that would record how long someone has been holding a particular Federal Reserve Note (dollar bill). According to the suggestion by Marvin Goodfriend, a Senior Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the longer someone holds currency, the less it will be worth. In other words, there would be a tax on holding currency.

Y2K Newswire leaned of this through Declan McCullagh, author of the WIRED News story covering the same topic. McCullagh, a reporter who thrives on privacy issues, nailed the Fed on this story. In it, he quotes Goodfriend saying, "The magnetic strip could visibly record when a bill was last withdrawn from the banking system. A carry tax could be deducted from each bill upon deposit according to how long the bill was in circulation..."

The idea behind the paranoid suggestion? This would deter hoarding of currency.

CONSPIRACY THEORY? GUESS AGAIN...
Right on time! As Y2K Newswire predicted fourteen months ago, bankers are now pumping up the "hoarding" phrase and working to outlaw cash entirely. The Y2K Deniers and Hecklers recently called this a "conspiracy theory." Well now it's a Federal Reserve theory, and your own personal barcode probably isn't far behind. You can see the Fed argument now: "Why bother with cash? Why not just brand all the cattle... er, we mean, people, with a financial ID barcode?"

See what happens when a nation abandons its power to coin money? With the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, the U.S. government turned over the power to create currency to a private company, not even owned by Americans; also not owned by the federal government; one that doesn't pay taxes and answers to no one: the Federal Reserve.

Perhaps this is the kind of thing President Woodrow Wilson was referring to when he said, after signing the Federal Reserve Act, "I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men."

Or perhaps this was what Thomas Jefferson was talking about when he said, well before the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, "If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks...will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

Author Sheldon Emry, in a recommended-reading essay titled, "Billions for the Bankers, Debts for the People," explains both the historical and present-day context of the Federal Reserve system.
http://webbindustries.com/spotlight/f_fr_art001.html

WHO OPPOSES THE CURRENCY TRACKING SCHEME?
Naturally, Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas), a Libertarian at heart, sharply opposes this Federal Reserve scheme. The WIRED News story quotes him as saying, "The whole idea is preposterous. 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..."

Certainly, many Americans will oppose the idea, too, but a far greater number will nod accordingly, and with glazed eyes and a zombie-like voice, they will say, "Yes, master. Yes, master. The currency tracking is a good idea, master."

AN EVEN MORE PARANOID IDEA
Goodfriend, who has obviously been given the wrong last name, also suggests that banks might disallow currency withdrawals altogether! He says, "Suspending the payment of currency for deposits would avoid the cost of imposing a carry tax on currency..."

Read that carefully: "suspending the payment of currency for deposits" is Fed-speak for, "making cash withdrawals illegal."

THE BIG PICTURE
More astounding than the suggestion by itself is the fact that Federal Reserve officials are making this suggestion. Put another way, somebody at the Fed actually thought this was a good enough idea that they should make a presentation about it. Somebody is seriously backing this cash-tracking scheme.

These people, of course, have lost all touch with any idea of personal freedom and individual rights. This is the scary part. Lacking these basic values, it's very easy for them to up the ante by suggesting cash be outlawed altogether. They'll say they are "fighting crime," of course, which will create public support for the measure. Americans, it seems, are willing to give up any measure of freedom when the phrase, "fighting crime," is invoked. They think they are giving up a little bit a freedom for a little bit of security when, in fact, as Jefferson once concluded, they will end up with neither.

In a few short years, we could find ourselves in a cashless society, where all financial transactions are tracked, monitored and profiled. It's no longer a conspiracy theory. There are no black helicopters hovering over this editor. The plan is now evident; it's laid out right in front of us. Cash must go.

Will most Americans care about this? No.

Will they do anything to stop it? No.

Will Y2K change the situation? Probably not.

Are we stuck with this? Yep. That is, as long as we keep electing the same parties and the same families to positions of power. Until we have a reformist President who can educate the American people about freedom, nothing will change. And if you think voting Bush into office will change anything, you're kidding yourself. Next November, vote for reform.

# End #

-- flb (fben4077@yahoo.com), October 28, 1999

Mark of the beast in the making. Dispose of cash (the real plan is to get people thinking that cash is "evil") and you prime the people for a replacement system.

What is amazing is that very few people realize what the significance of this is. The ability of American's to conduc their private affairs in an anonymous manner isn't criminal, it's a cornerstone of American freedom. No cash is no anonymity. Do you really want a database tracking every single purchase you make? If you use credit cards or checks, this is already happening. Cash is the ONLY way to make a purchase disappear from the trackers, and even this if not done correctly can leave a trail.

It has been my view that Y2K will usher in a new economic order - irregardless of the significance or overrated impact of Y2K. It's not an issue of whether Y2K happens or not - it's whether the PERCEPTION has been established. And the perception is now firmly in place.

The next plank is now being laid. Cash is BAD for you and BAD for America because criminals use cash. Of course a tax is going to be opposed, that is the plan all along - over reach the real goal. The real goal is to create another perception. Get people ready for a cashless society as it is the only way to let the little people help oppose crime. Never mind that American's lose their anonymity.

Think about it. Anonymity is the cornerstone of our Republic. Financial anonymity is the chief cornerstone. Lose this and you give up ALL your rights. This indeed is mark of the beast history in the making folks, don't you forget it.

-- Wind (revelations16@hotmail.com), October 28, 1999.

King - the Know your customer stuff is not dead, not by any means. I don't have the links saved, but I read several articles that banks were already implementing that regs proposed. Although there were a large number of protests, the banks and the Fed didn't listen from what I read. The plan remains the same. It must also be remembered that these proposals are not isolated, disjointed concepts, but a part of a cohesive plan that will, one way or another, bring about the desired outcome. It WILL happen, no matter what we do. Better to plan for the worst as they say, and hope for the best.

-- Wind (revelations16@hotmail.com), October 28, 1999.

This is untrue, according to the poster named YouKnowWho/Y2k Dimwit Pro. Just goes to show a glaring example of a stupid polly who implied it couldn't happen. ROFL

-- haha (haha@haha.com), October 28, 1999.

Cash is BAD, m'kay?? You shouldn't use cash. If you use it, you're bad, because bad peope use cash, m'kay? It'sa bad thing to use cash, so con't be bad by using cash, mm'kay? That'd be bad. Cause cash is bad, mmmkay??

-- Mr. Mackey (school@south.park), October 28, 1999.

I don't get it. 'Cash' is really a note of debt to the holder by the Federl Reserve. Now the Fed is going to declare that they will no longer honor the debt. Does this mean they defaulted?

Secondly, it makes no sense. If my cash expires in 24 hrs, what do I do, take it to a bank and exchange it for fresh cash with a new three year span-- if so, what was accomplished? Hurry up and try to spend it, thus stiffing the supermarket with cash that will expire before they can deposit it?

-- Downhome (speedio@raceway.com), October 29, 1999.

Me - "How much do you want for your used car?" Seller - "Eleven American Eagles or one and a half that in dollars." Me - "Deal! Here's the gold."

Point: Who will carry depreciating cash when an alternate form of currency is available. I predict the American people will cash their paychecks and run across the street to buy gold, euros, or spend it as fast as possible. Dollars will be treated as if they are undergoing hyper-inflation.

-- Hawthorne (99@00.com), October 29, 1999.