Dr. Joseph Salerno, Academic Vice President of the Mises Institute, recently gave a speech about the ever-growing “war on cash.” For decades, governments around the world have been expanding their efforts to prevent or discourage citizens from using cash. Salerno reviewed the history of this trend from the Bank Secrecy Act in 1970 to modern-day laws and regulations throughout Europe and individual states in America.
In his latest Liberty Report, Ron Paul discusses the escalating “War on Cash” with Daniel McAdams. First, they looked at how many more dollars are in circulation today compared to pre-1971, when Nixon closed the gold window. The Federal government, Paul argues, wants to exercise more control over this untraceable cash under the auspices of catching tax cheats and criminals. Unfortunately, it’s the poor who will be most adversely affected by stricter limitations on cash.
The war on cash continues to heat up with a proposed law in Denmark that would open the door to what Jim Leaviss called “the first step towards an economic revolution that sees physical currencies and normal bank accounts abolished,” in a recent Telegraph column.
Last month, we reported on the reasons central banks would love to do away with cash. In a nutshell, these central planners believe they can more effectively manipulate the economy in a cashless society.
The proposed Danish law would take a step in that direction, allowing shops to refuse cash and require some form of electronic payment. Policymakers claim the law would “ease administrative and financial burdens,” but Leaviss gleefully sees it as part of a much bigger picture.
The war on cash is a growing collection of laws and banking regulations that discourage or prevent citizens from doing business in physical currency. Last month, we reported on new laws in France that will limit the size of cash transactions. On a smaller scale, the state of Louisiana has recently made it illegal to use cash when transacting secondhand goods. For years now, American banks have been required to file “Suspicious Activity Reports” when cash transactions or withdrawals of more than $5,000 occur.
According to lawmakers, these regulations ostensibly ensure that business transactions are properly reported and taxed. They don’t want any potential tax revenue slipping through the cracks. They tell the public that these laws will help to prevent white collar crime, organized crime, and terrorism.
However, the privacy of financial transactions is simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the war on cash.
In a stunningly despotic move, France has launched severe new restrictions on cash transactions. After September 2015, French residents cannot make cash payments of more than 1,000 euros, down from the current limit of 3,000. Foreign visitors' cash payments will be capped at 10,000 euros rather than 15,000. Not only that, but any bank withdrawal of more than 10,000 euros per month will be reported to French authorities for good measure.
The claim is that these restrictions will help to fight terrorism. French Minister of Finance Michael Sapin pointed out that the terrorists who killed 17 people at Charlie Hebdo and a Parisian food store partially used cash to finance their attack.
