American Politics

[EihTooms]

Tiny wrote - Let's stick to Tooms' philosophy, that something like a pandemic, or presumably a war, is no excuse for an increase in the debt.

Where in the world did you come up with that one? Of course, Trump's Pandemic was cause to increase the debt, as was the Great Repub Depressions, Great Repub Recessions, the Great Repub Jobs Destructions, etc.

Spidy, It's pretty obvious what you meant. See the bold text below. You meant every Republican and his dog wants to mint a trillion dollar coin to pay down the debt.

So we've established that the following famous people promoted the idea of a trillion dollar coin, for the purpose of paying down the national debt or, in the case of Tlaib, two coins to pay $1,000 a month to most Americans:

Paul Krugman: Renowned Democrat economist.
Lawrence Tribe: Renowned Democrat attorney.
James Galbraith: Well known Democrat economist, where I live anyway.
Jerry Nadler: Famous Democratic Congressman.
Rashida Tlaib: Famous Democratic Congresswoman.

No, neither you, your links, we, nor anyone else have established any such thing. They responded to questions about it and made the case for it only as a silly or bad idea that isn't as silly and bad as what Repubs repeatedly propose for dealing with it; Not paying the debt they racked up and allowing USA to default.

Repub spiritual twin and running for POTUS too soon to be the far and away front runner for the Repub Party nominee Bo Gritz was the first politician and as far as I know the only one so far who promoted the magic coin idea without that economically disastrous Repub threat at his back.

Your pro Repub spin that those Dems "popularized" or "promoted" the idea of minting a magic coin to pay down the massive debts that horrific Repub policies and stewardship produce is like saying people on the ground witnessing the poor souls leaping out of 100 story windows of the World Trade Center because a blazing fireball of airline fuel and shrapnel was at their backs during Bush's 9/11 Attack and commenting that they understood why they lept and would probably have done the same were "popularizing" and "promoting" the idea of leaping out of 100 story windows.

Uh. No. The terrorists who flew those planes into the World Trade Center are the ones who "popularized" and "promoted" that idea.

Same with the Repub economic terrorists who repeatedly threaten to default on their debt re the magic coin idea response.

Without Repubs repeatedly threatening to force the USA to default on the loan debts that horrific Repub economic policies and stewardship cause to be racked up more than any other factor including all the "wild coincidences" you can imagine, no Dem would ever consider Repub spiritual twin Bo Gritz' magic coin idea as a last ditch alternative to something far worse.

[Tiny 12]

In yet another twist to the one (1) Trillion dollar coin, debt, this article (below) suggests, ex-Pres Ronald Reagan (GOP/Repub), should be the "face of the coin".

What an interesting and novel idea. Why didn't I think of that? (...kkkk!)

Why Ronald Reagan Should Be on the $1 Trillion Platinum Coin
https://ourfuture.org/20130110/why-r...platinum-coin?



I nominate Trump, as butt-end (or tails) of the coin...kkkk!

Great idea! But your article is way too subjective. We need a systematic and fair way to pick the presidents, for the trillion dollar platinum coin to pay down the debt. And Tooms has given us just what we need!

U.S. Debt by President: Dollar and Percentage.

https://www.investopedia.com/us-debt...entage-7371225

Let's stick to Tooms' philosophy, that something like a pandemic, or presumably a war, is no excuse for an increase in the debt. Do we look at the run up in the debt in dollar terms or percentage terms?

Well, if it's dollar terms, then yes, Trump's the tail! And Obama, who presided over a $7. 6 trillion increase in the debt, larger than Trump's $6. 7 trillion, is the head!

If Biden wins re-election and gets to govern again with a Democratic House and Senate then I bet he'll edge out Trump, and maybe Obama. So maybe we should wait. Tooms' link must be a little old, as it only shows a $2.5 trillion run up in the debt under Biden, but it has really been $4.2 trillion so far.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEBTN

On the other hand we could look at the percentage increase. Then Franklin Roosevelt's the head and Woodrow Wilson is the tail.

Again, please, no argument about the basis for selecting the winners. If we're not going to use a pandemic as an excuse, we darn sure shouldn't use war as an excuse. A war is often avoidable and a pandemic is not.

[Spidy]

In yet another twist to the one (1) Trillion dollar coin, debt, this article (below) suggests, ex-Pres Ronald Reagan (GOP/Repub), should be the "face of the coin".

What an interesting and novel idea. Why didn't I think of that? (...kkkk!)

Why Ronald Reagan Should Be on the $1 Trillion Platinum Coin
https://ourfuture.org/20130110/why-r...platinum-coin?

"... If the White House decides to mint the coin, the Treasury should put Reagan's picture on it. And if I were president Obama, just for fun I'd drill a hole through it, put it on a chain, and wear it around my neck at the next State of the Union."

I nominate Trump, as butt-end (or tails) of the coin...kkkk!

[Tiny 12]

Talk about hopeless! (...kkkk!) No you'd be wrong again! I never called the Repubs, the progenitor of the coin idea.

Here is what I wrote:
Tiny 12, to be clear, no where in my initial post do I say that Repubs, are the progenitor of the coin idea. I only stated they (ISG Repubs) often loved to "float" idea.

I was simply saying, I thought I had remembered that Repubs (meaning and mainly referring to the "ISG Republican pseudo economists", w/r to past forum discussions on the topic, whom), just loved to float the coin idea, as a solution to the debt problem. I seem to remember them bringing it up all the time. And then I asked, how would it work?

Tiny 12, I submit, it was you, who then []twisted and put a spin on the articles you put forth, as the Dems being the progenitor of the coin idea. And then later declared Beowulf, aka Carlos Mucha, as the one. Yes, those articles have some Dems agreeing to the idea of using "a coin" idea in one way or another, to solve a crisis (often Repub made), but NOT the progenitor of the coin idea.

EihTooms, than presented evidence, that clearly rebuts your arguments and clearly predates ALL your findings and conclusively thus far, squarely points the finger at Mr. Bo Gritz ("a closet Republican"), being the progenitor of the coin idea.

So with Mr. Gritz (the "closet Repub" wannabe) as the clear front runner to the progenitor of the coin idea, thus far, prompted me, in jest, to create more Repub folklore, "GOP Lord of the Coins". Since, after all Mr. Gritz, is really a Republican, even if he is still in the closet.

On your very own, Tiny 12, YOU were the one who jumped to the conclusion, I said, "Republicans created the trillion dollar coin idea", albeit perhaps from a Repub guilty conscience? Knowing that Repubs are most often guilty and responsible for so much nutty duress on the US economy and political health of the country?

Spidy, It's pretty obvious what you meant. See the bold text below. You meant every Republican and his dog wants to mint a trillion dollar coin to pay down the debt.

Now that was funny, but so true! And I do so enjoy a good "Fairy Tale". If (when) it fails, perhaps we can use it as a "Cautionary Tale/Fable"?

Speaking of "fairy tales", what ever happened to the one about the "One (1) Trillion dollar coin" (Repubs love to mint in their heads), that could simply payoff the federal debt?

I seem to hear this one, every time a Repub President takes office and then proceeds to astronomically run up the federal debt, on their way to yet another Repub recession, and every Repub and their dog, seems to think that this mystical coin is the answer.

Any Repub economists (or anyone really), care to explain how this would work?

So we've established that the following famous people promoted the idea of a trillion dollar coin, for the purpose of paying down the national debt or, in the case of Tlaib, two coins to pay $1,000 a month to most Americans:

Paul Krugman: Renowned Democrat economist.
Lawrence Tribe: Renowned Democrat attorney.
James Galbraith: Well known Democrat economist, where I live anyway.
Jerry Nadler: Famous Democratic Congressman.
Rashida Tlaib: Famous Democratic Congresswoman.

And two nobodies:

Bo Gritz, Populist candidate for president who received 0.14% of the popular vote.
Carlos Mucha, aka Beowulf, Democrat Attorney.

And I'm not sure exactly what Gritz proposed, as I'm not seeing any contemporaneous reporting from 1992. Presumably he did not propose a platinum coin, because that wasn't allowed in 1992, and whatever he proposed was an impossibility at the time, as legally the government couldn't mint a coin with a larger denomination than $50 until 1996.

Contrary to what you posted, "every Repub and their dog," there aren't ANY Republicans on that list.

[SubCmdr]

That works if the "combined balance of all the foreign accounts you own or have a financial interest in or signature authority over" is less than $10,000 throughout the year. If that's case there's no requirement to file the Fincen Form 114 (FBAR) with the Treasury Department.

There's another form you file with your tax return, Form 8938, that pretty much duplicates what's on the FBAR. You list your foreign accounts and maximum balances. But you don't have to file that provided you have less than $50,000 in total foreign financial assets.

And finally there's a box you have to check on your Schedule B of Form 1040 if you have a foreign account. This needs to be checked regardless of the balance in your foreign accounts. And you need to report all income from your foreign accounts on your tax return..

You are keeping it 100 my ISG Brother about the reporting requirements. And I think it is very accurate that you shared. Any one that goes off shore better know what they are doing.

But if you do not exceed 10,000 USD balance in all of your foreign accounts throughout the year you can avoid a lot of the reporting requirements just by staying below the limits. But if you earn income on those accounts then can not avoid them no matter what your balances are. But when it comes to foreign holdings, there is a really big loop hole that you can drive a truck trough. Foreign held real estate in your own name. If you do not hold it in your own name you are going to have to report it on IRS Form 8938.

[Spidy]

And I'm making a bigger deal of this than I should too. Spidy mistakenly called the trillion dollar platinum coin idea a Republican idea and it wasn't. It was a Democrat idea, to be able to bypass Republicans to increase the debt limit. You guys could have gracefully admitted the mistake but instead came up with a bizarre line of reasoning that makes Sidney Powell's theories about the 2020 election look reasonable.

Talk about hopeless! (...kkkk!) No you'd be wrong again! I never called the Repubs, the progenitor of the coin idea.

Here is what I wrote:

... Speaking of "fairy tales", what ever happened to the one about the "One (1) Trillion dollar coin" (Repubs love to mint in their heads), that could simply payoff the federal debt?

I seem to hear this one, every time a Repub President takes office and then proceeds to astronomically run up the federal debt, on their way to yet another Repub recession, and every Repub and their dog, seems to think that this mystical coin is the answer.

Any Repub economists (or anyone really), care to explain how this would work?

Tiny 12, to be clear, no where in my initial post do I say that Repubs, are the progenitor of the coin idea. I only stated they (ISG Repubs) often loved to "float" idea.

I was simply saying, I thought I had remembered that Repubs (meaning and mainly referring to the "ISG Republican pseudo economists", w/r to past forum discussions on the topic, whom), just loved to float the coin idea, as a solution to the debt problem. I seem to remember them bringing it up all the time. And then I asked, how would it work?

Tiny 12, I submit, it was you, who then twisted and put a spin on the articles you put forth, as the Dems being the progenitor of the coin idea. And then later declared Beowulf, aka Carlos Mucha, as the one. Yes, those articles have some Dems agreeing to the idea of using "a coin" idea in one way or another, to solve a crisis (often Repub made), but NOT the progenitor of the coin idea.

EihTooms, then presented evidence, that clearly rebuts your arguments and clearly predates ALL your findings and conclusively thus far, squarely points the finger at Mr. Bo Gritz ("a closet Republican"), being the progenitor of the coin idea.

So with Mr. Gritz (the "closet Repub" wannabe) as the clear front runner to the progenitor of the coin idea, thus far, prompted me, in jest, to create more Repub folklore, "GOP Lord of the Coins". Since, after all Mr. Gritz, is really a Republican, even if he is still in the closet.

On your very own, Tiny 12, YOU were the one who jumped to the conclusion, I said, "Republicans created the trillion dollar coin idea", albeit perhaps from a Repub guilty conscience? Knowing that Repubs are most often guilty and responsible for so much nutty duress on the US economy and political health of the country?

[Tiny 12]

But over in the Pattaya Reports thread there is a mother fucker who says he uses bank transfers to pay prostitutes. Nah brother. I pay cash.....Why do you pay prostitutes in cash in countries where prostitution is legal?

I agree 100%. I don't think U.S law enforcement would or could come after someone for paying a prostitute in a country where prostitution is legal, provided she's not underage or trafficked, and few or none of us would knowingly have sex with women in that category. However, I don't really know any more. You've got FOSTA, SESTA, the Mann Act and state statutes on the books, so it's hard to keep up with it all. And for anyone who has a wife or an employer who frowns upon our hobby, using cash makes even more sense.

Let me give you a hypothetical: You transfer money to your foreign bank below the allowed limits. Then you take the money out of your account in cash (USD or the foreign currency of the country where you are banking) and put it into safe keeping. Can you tell me how that is illegal or a violation of the foreign bank account reporting standards?

I am not taking issue with you my ISG brother. I am making an attempt to share information and make people think.

That works if the "combined balance of all the foreign accounts you own or have a financial interest in or signature authority over" is less than $10,000 throughout the year. If that's case there's no requirement to file the Fincen Form 114 (FBAR) with the Treasury Department.

There's another form you file with your tax return, Form 8938, that pretty much duplicates what's on the FBAR. You list your foreign accounts and maximum balances. But you don't have to file that provided you have less than $50,000 in total foreign financial assets.

And finally there's a box you have to check on your Schedule B of Form 1040 if you have a foreign account. This needs to be checked regardless of the balance in your foreign accounts. And you need to report all income from your foreign accounts on your tax return.

Foreign banks and other foreign financial institutions report certain info about their American customers accounts to the IRS under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). I don't know the details but would assume that applies regardless of the customer's balance. There are many foreign banks and brokers that won't accept USA Clients because they don't want to jack with the reporting requirements under FATCA.

You probably know all or most of the preceding, but maybe it's worth mentioning for anyone else interested in this who happens to be reading.

[SubCmdr]

I don't understand it, but intuitively fear it too. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's kind of like the digital wallet in my post? It's the government keeping track of the money in your account, not your bank?

That is exactly it! The government will have either direct access to your CBDC account or it will be a pass through of information through the banks. GOVs have a lot of hurdles to work through because if they do it wrong they will put the banks out of business. My best guess is that they are going to attack crypto at the off ramps and by making it illegal to hold crypto directly. They probably want to make banks the official custodians of all money. GOVs fear crypto more than gold or silver. Gold and silver are hard to move. Crypto is the first medium of exchange where you can self custody and move it at the speed to light, without and intermediary. Right now there is very low adoption. That is the only reason GOVs are not really paying attention to crypto. But as more people wake up to the fiat currency scam, you are going to see crypto get a lot more attention.

That's probably wise. I don't because I'm lazy and want the frequent flyer points that come with card charges. Which admittedly may be penny wise and pound foolish.

We all have our priorities and I will never tell people how to use their money. But over in the Pattaya Reports thread there is a mother fucker who says he uses bank transfers to pay prostitutes. Nah brother. I pay cash. Even law enforcement agencies say that if you are engaged in illegal activities you should use cash. Anything else they say they can track down.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/secre...reddit-ama/amp

I don't understand or entirely trust crypto. If you just use bank accounts like I do, there's really no legal way. And no illegal way I'd feel comfortable with. I like to sleep well at night.

I understand crypto but do not entirely trust all crypto. There is BTC and everything else.

I do not engage in illegal financial activities of any type. It is legal to own crypto. You must report your activities to the IRS (if pay taxes in the USA). But if you put your crypto into a cold wallet and then store it some place, that does not require any reporting until you use it for something, sell or transfer it. Just check the box on your tax return to avoid lying on a report to the USGOV.

But the GOVs in general have a problem. They must rely on self reporting. Because if you transfer your crypto directly to someone else by operating your own full node (computer and software that costs about 300 - 400 USD) the only footprint that is left is on the blockchain of the crypto itself. Use a coin mixer and it is becomes impossible to trace. Like dropping your crypto into a black hole. The problem is for the average individual is that it takes a lot of research and knowledge to pull this all off (I have done the research and I know what I am doing). Some may think, well why would you be doing this if you are not doing something illegal? Why do you pay prostitutes in cash in countries where prostitution is legal?

The defense rests.

The penalties for failing to file the FBAR reporting foreign bank accounts are too severe -- they can take several times the maximum value in your account and put you in jail.

Let me give you a hypothetical: You transfer money to your foreign bank below the allowed limits. Then you take the money out of your account in cash (USD or the foreign currency of the country where you are banking) and put it into safe keeping. Can you tell me how that is illegal or a violation of the foreign bank account reporting standards?

I am not taking issue with you my ISG brother. I am making an attempt to share information and make people think.

[EihTooms]

Beowulf, aka Carlos Mucha, is a Democrat. He's more partisan than you are.

https://twitter.com/mucha_carlos?lang=en

Krugman popularized the idea. James K. Gabraith, another Democrat economist, and Lawrence Tribe, a Democrat attorney, did as well, but this would have never attracted attention if Krugman hadn't gotten behind it.

https://archive.nytimes.com/krugman....int-that-coin/

https://archive.nytimes.com/krugman....barous-relics/

https://archive.nytimes.com/krugman....out-the-brink/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/paul-...coin_n_2427160

https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/stat...39546800971776

https://fortune.com/2023/05/03/paul-...-debt-ceiling/

Nobody who matters ever heard of Bo Gritz. Many a tin pot dictator in South America and Africa did what Bo Gritz proposed, only it involved printing paper instead of minting coins. Gritz's proposal wouldn't have passed muster with the courts in 1992 when he ran for president, and none of the Democrats who popularized the trillion dollar coin were influenced by the guy.

Rashida Tlaib proposed minting two trillion dollar platinum coins to pay $2000 up front and $1000 per month every month to most Americans until a year after COVID ended. Presumably that would have been $4,000 a month for a family of four even if the husband and wife were employed.

https://tlaib.house.gov/posts/common...y-from-us-mint

Gritz was a nut case. Thus you feel compelled to label him as pro Republican and label me as one of his supporters. Well, at least you're smart enough to know the idea, the trillion dollar platinum coin, is nutty.

You should have just argued that, despite the support of Krugman, Jerry Nadler, Tlaib and some other Democrats, this is a fringe idea that neither the Obama nor Biden Administrations supported. I would have agreed with you. And as to "protecting anyone else reading your unsupported suggestion," you, Spidy and I are probably the only ones reading these posts. I've given up on converting both of you. I do though still pray to the Saints of Classical Liberalism (Hayek, Friedman, von Mises and Ronald Reagan) for your immortal souls from time to time.

And I'm making a bigger deal of this than I should too. Spidy mistakenly called the trillion dollar platinum coin idea a Republican idea and it wasn't. It was a Democrat idea, to be able to bypass Republicans to increase the debt limit. You guys could have gracefully admitted the mistake but instead came up with a bizarre line of reasoning that makes Sidney Powell's theories about the 2020 election look reasonable.

But Beowolf did not come up with the idea. The Repub Party's spiritual twin Bo Gritz did.

Many people who were paying attention in 1992 knew about Bo Gritz. Even about his magic coin idea, dumb enough to only come from a Repub mindset.

I knew about him and his magic coin idea in 1992 because at that time I still had a bit of numbskull "Bothsider / Neithersider" lingering in me so I was looking for a Third Party alternative. Not as much numbskull mindset as whatever possessed me to vote for Teflon Ronnie in 1980. But some. In fact, I voted for a Third Party candidate in 1992.

That is why I knew to look up Bo Gritz as the likely originator of that magic coin idea. I remembered it coming from him. And I remember thinking then that his ideas were so stupid and in line with the way Repubs think he really ought to run more honestly as a Repub.

Today, Bo Gritz, exactly as he was in 1992, saying exactly the same things in the same way, proposing exactly those same Repub ideas would be ahead of Trump, DeSantis, Haley and the rest by at least 70 points in the Repub Party POTUS Nominee polling consensus.

[Tiny 12]

Too bad a crypto sleuth hasn't revealed the true extent of machinations worldwide, a la Snowden. A buddy suggested that the Hamas recent acts were funded with crypto originating in Russia. I'll ask him for more details. The weapons used maybe originated in Russia & China, if one can believe western intelligence.

The WSJ wrote about this a couple of days ago. The name of the Russian cypto exchange is Garantex. Russians use it to move money in and out of the country, to avoid sanctions. One of Hamas' partners, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, received millions through Garantex.

https://www.wsj.com/finance/currenci...tions-a3648357

PM me if you don't subscribe and want the text.

[Tiny 12]

Your search for evidence that a Dem originated the idea was apparently hopeless.

Beowulf, aka Carlos Mucha, is a Democrat. He's more partisan than you are.

https://twitter.com/mucha_carlos?lang=en

Your search for evidence that Paul Krugman originated the idea was apparently hopeless.

Krugman popularized the idea. James K. Gabraith, another Democrat economist, and Lawrence Tribe, a Democrat attorney, did as well, but this would have never attracted attention if Krugman hadn't gotten behind it.

https://archive.nytimes.com/krugman....int-that-coin/

https://archive.nytimes.com/krugman....barous-relics/

https://archive.nytimes.com/krugman....out-the-brink/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/paul-...coin_n_2427160

https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/stat...39546800971776

https://fortune.com/2023/05/03/paul-...-debt-ceiling/

Your search for evidence that any politician or legitimate political Party candidate for POTUS who actually appeared on ballots originated the idea as a serious proposal earlier or other than Populist Party candidate Bo Gritz in 1992 was apparently hopeless.

Nobody who matters ever heard of Bo Gritz. Many a tin pot dictator in South America and Africa did what Bo Gritz proposed, only it involved printing paper instead of minting coins. Gritz's proposal wouldn't have passed muster with the courts in 1992 when he ran for president, and none of the Democrats who popularized the trillion dollar coin were influenced by the guy.

Your search for evidence that any Dem Politician seriously proposed the idea for any reason other than to force Deadbeat Repubs to pay the record high increase in the debts they rack up while Repub spiritual twin Bo Gritz' 1992 proposal was the serious proposal that needed 'splainin' was apparently hopeless.

Rashida Tlaib proposed minting two trillion dollar platinum coins to pay $2000 up front and $1000 per month every month to most Americans until a year after COVID ended. Presumably that would have been $4,000 a month for a family of four even if the husband and wife were employed.

https://tlaib.house.gov/posts/common...y-from-us-mint

and I are simply presenting the actual facts, the easily accessible historical record and the fully substantiated and linked truth of the matter in order to hopefully steer you away from your unsupported suggestion that it was originated by a Dem or by Paul Krugman or anyone other an obvious spiritual twin of Repubs, a candidate who was very likely a total Repub Party believer but who in 1992 was just too embarassed by the grossly inferior economic, jobs creation and fiscal irresponsibility results of the previous 12 years of his beloved iconic Repub economic stewardship vs to the far superior results produced by Jimmy Carter and every other Dem and he therefore hid behind a Third Party affiliation, a "Bothsider / Neithersider" pretext to still tout typically numbskull and repeatedly horrifically failed Repub Party economic ideas as a Third Party candidate.

A candidate I am guessing you would have enthusiastically supported then as now, BTW.

And we are doing it to protect anyone else reading your unsupported suggestion from being misled to the dangerous conclusion that Dems rather than Repubs and pro Repub Bothsider / Neithersiders are the ones who come up with these proven disastrous numbskull economic ideas, policies and agendas time and time again.

Gritz was a nut case. Thus you feel compelled to label him as pro Republican and label me as one of his supporters. Well, at least you're smart enough to know the idea, the trillion dollar platinum coin, is nutty.

You should have just argued that, despite the support of Krugman, Jerry Nadler, Tlaib and some other Democrats, this is a fringe idea that neither the Obama nor Biden Administrations supported. I would have agreed with you. And as to "protecting anyone else reading your unsupported suggestion," you, Spidy and I are probably the only ones reading these posts. I've given up on converting both of you. I do though still pray to the Saints of Classical Liberalism (Hayek, Friedman, von Mises and Ronald Reagan) for your immortal souls from time to time.

And I'm making a bigger deal of this than I should too. Spidy mistakenly called the trillion dollar platinum coin idea a Republican idea and it wasn't. It was a Democrat idea, to be able to bypass Republicans to increase the debt limit. You guys could have gracefully admitted the mistake but instead came up with a bizarre line of reasoning that makes Sidney Powell's theories about the 2020 election look reasonable.

[Beijing4987]

Too bad a crypto sleuth hasn't revealed the true extent of machinations worldwide, a la Snowden. A buddy suggested that the Hamas recent acts were funded with crypto originating in Russia. I'll ask him for more details. The weapons used maybe originated in Russia & China, if one can believe western intelligence.

[Tiny 12]

I am in fear of CBDC.

I don't understand it, but intuitively fear it too. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's kind of like the digital wallet in my post? It's the government keeping track of the money in your account, not your bank?

I use cash for POS transactions as much as possible. It is untraceable.

That's probably wise. I don't because I'm lazy and want the frequent flyer points that come with card charges. Which admittedly may be penny wise and pound foolish.

I acknowledge that as world traveler, digital transfers of money are unavoidable. But once you get it off shore and adhere to certain limits and reporting requirements, you can drop the money you move into the system off the grid. That is, if you know what you are doing.

I don't understand or entirely trust crypto. If you just use bank accounts like I do, there's really no legal way. And no illegal way I'd feel comfortable with. I like to sleep well at night. The penalties for failing to file the FBAR reporting foreign bank accounts are too severe -- they can take several times the maximum value in your account and put you in jail.

[SubCmdr]

Or maybe make everyone turn in all their paper money and coins, and issue digital currency in its place. Everyone would carry a digital wallet the government could track. And when you turn in your paper money to get your digital wallet, the banks would report any large amounts, say over $600, to the IRS, so they can make use of the extra $60 billion the politicians allocated to the agency recently. Then maybe hook the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms in with the IRS, so that when the IRS goes hunting for the cash turned in by the criminals and the tax cheaters, the ATF can confiscate their guns at the same time. (Just kidding!)

I fear digital money. And although I am a fan of crypto, I am in fear of CBDC. I use cash for POS transactions as much as possible. It is untraceable. I acknowledge that as world traveler, digital transfers of money are unavoidable. But once you get it off shore and adhere to certain limits and reporting requirements, you can drop the money you move into the system off the grid. That is, if you know what you are doing.

[EihTooms]

You guys are hopeless. Still trying to spin this as a Republican idea, when it's actually been proposed repeatedly by Democrats to force Republicans to raise the debt ceiling. And to create money out of thin air. Well, I'll give your side some credit. Trillion dollar platinum coins are a lot more creative than what Robert Mugabe and Nicolas Maduro came up with to pay their bills.

Your search for evidence that a Dem originated the idea was apparently hopeless.

Your search for evidence that Paul Krugman originated the idea was apparently hopeless.

Your search for evidence that any politician or legitimate political Party candidate for POTUS who actually appeared on ballots originated the idea as a serious proposal earlier or other than Populist Party candidate Bo Gritz in 1992 was apparently hopeless.

Your search for evidence that any Dem Politician seriously proposed the idea for any reason other than to force Deadbeat Repubs to pay the record high increase in the debts they rack up while Repub spiritual twin Bo Gritz' 1992 proposal was the serious proposal that needed 'splainin' was apparently hopeless.

Spidy and I are simply presenting the actual facts, the easily accessible historical record and the fully substantiated and linked truth of the matter in order to hopefully steer you away from your unsupported suggestion that it was originated by a Dem or by Paul Krugman or anyone other an obvious spiritual twin of Repubs, a candidate who was very likely a total Repub Party believer but who in 1992 was just too embarassed by the grossly inferior economic, jobs creation and fiscal irresponsibility results of the previous 12 years of his beloved iconic Repub economic stewardship vs to the far superior results produced by Jimmy Carter and every other Dem and he therefore hid behind a Third Party affiliation, a "Bothsider / Neithersider" pretext to still tout typically numbskull and repeatedly horrifically failed Repub Party economic ideas as a Third Party candidate.

A candidate I am guessing you would have enthusiastically supported then as now, BTW.

And we are doing it to protect anyone else reading your unsupported suggestion from being misled to the dangerous conclusion that Dems rather than Repubs and pro Repub Bothsider / Neithersiders are the ones who come up with these proven disastrous numbskull economic ideas, policies and agendas time and time again.