Hypothetical Question: What if Emperor Trump decided to outlaw all cash in America? What if he determined that it was in the interests of “National Security” to create a cashless society??
First some backstory:
In the course of this country’s failed Drug War, one of the government’s biggest weapons has been targeting cash transactions. Take Miami for instance. It is a well-known fact that much of Miami was built on cocaine money. Drug kingpins had more cash than they knew what to do with; even after buying twenty cars, a couple of yachts and the requisite Scarface-mansion, they still had millions left over that they needed to hide from the IRS. So they invested in buildings, condos, office parks, etc.
So the government came up with the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986. Basically it means that you cannot conduct a cash transaction over $10,000 without documenting it and handing said documentation over to the IRS. Banks real estate agents and car dealers especially are instructed to keep a healthy supply of said forms on hand.
Now of course these measures haven’t stopped drugs or other illegal activity, but they have forced criminals to get more creative.
Some have given voice to the theory that if cash were erased ENTIRELY from the equation, crime would become even harder to conduct. Of course, these ideas never go anywhere because, well, get rid of cash?? Are you nuts?? We can't even have a rational discussion about getting rid of pennies and/or nickels without raising hackles of coin collectors in this country.
And of course, these ideas never go anywhere because no U.S. president has ever been bugfuck crazy enough to consider it for even a millisecond.
AHEM.
Now then…
We know Popular Vote Loser Trump has made promises to crack down on drugs — particularly those coming across the southern border with Mexico.
We also know that he’s got a mad-on for that Wall thing, and has talked about seizing remittances to Mexico and Central America to do it. And consider, what if he couldn’t seize remittances, but — knowing that many in the US use cash to send those remittances -- tried to attack them in that fashion as a sort of a consolation prize to himself?
So, consider: what if President Bugfuck Crazy were to combine his (and the xenophobic right wing’s) biggest obsessions and were to decide that eliminating cash was the best way to accomplish those ends??
Would he, could he, really attempt to wipe away our lovely green Benjamins, Grants and Washingtons?
Consider this: what if there was a corollary benefit? What if all financial transactions had to be conducted via debit card, meaning all had to join a bank? Or Paypal? Or Visa Pay, Apple Pay , Bitcoin, Venmo or some new app we haven’t even conceived of yet? Would this nations banks blanch at this proposal...or would they willingly applaud an act that would give them millions of new customers?
And what else would they go along with to show their thanks to President Bugfuck Crazy?
You probably see where I’m headed here. In a society without cash, your privacy is compromised. Everything you do is subject to observation.
If Democratic norms were being followed, OK, this wouldn’t be a problem. But as we know Democratic norms have been taking a beating since January 20th.
In the US the Dept of the Treasury has a proactive arm called FinCEN (Financial Crime Enforcement Network). There’s also the IRS and FBI. What if President Bugfuck Crazy decided to weaponize this apparatus against his so-called “enemies”?
What if contributing to certain organizations — Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, Dkos — was judged “a suspicious act” and was enough to put one on a “terrorist watch list”??
Yes, this sounds very fanciful, and tinfoil -hatter-ish I know. And I also know that this is something that would take years, if not a decade to place into action. BUT...remember who we’re dealing with here people.
Also note — India is already moving in this direction.
Sweden too.
I just wanted to file this away under “Things That Might Happen in the Next Four Years That Won’t Surprise Me One Bit.”