by Charles Hugh Smith
Of Two Minds
Clearly, the Fed reckons the public is foolish enough to believe the Fed’s money will actually be “free.”
It’s pretty much universally recognized that authorities use crises to impose “emergency powers” that become permanent. This erosion of civil and economic liberties is always sold as “necessary for your own good.” Of course the accretion of ever greater power in the hands of the few is for our own good. How could it be otherwise? (Irony off)
In this environment of “emergency powers”, it’s almost refreshing to find a power grab so blatant that its sheer boldness boggles the mind. I’m talking about the Federal Reserve’s FedNow, a proposed system of instant payments and digital dollars.
This paper from the Cleveland Fed describes the system: FedNow paper from clevelandfed.org (PDF) (via Cheryl A.)