This past Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) unveiled a brand-new proposal that was created to do battle with the possible implementation of a central bank digital currency set in motion by a collaboration between both the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve.
A number of critics of a possible central bank digital currency have noted that the asset, which would end up being under the direct management of the Federal Reserve and tethered to the market value of the dollar, would create a shocking number of opportunities for government surveillance and overall control of private citizens. DeSantis proposed new pieces of legislation that would seek to issue a ban on the recognition of central bank digital currencies, even if they come from the federal government or from any overseas central bank, as money recognized by Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code.
“The Biden administration’s efforts to inject a Centralized Bank Digital Currency is about surveillance and control,” stated DeSantis as part of a press release. “Today’s announcement will protect Florida consumers and businesses from the reckless adoption of a ‘centralized digital dollar’ which will stifle innovation and promote government-sanctioned surveillance. Florida will not side with economic central planners; we will not adopt policies that threaten personal economic freedom and security.”
Countries such as China, Australia, Japan, India, Russia, and South Korea are all currently looking into the creation of digital currencies from their respective central banks, a concept already established in the Bahamas, Nigeria, and Jamaica, as reported by a release from the Atlantic Council.
Those that have been harshly skeptical of digital currencies from the central bank have spotlighted a number of instances in which the financial system has been leveraged by both private and public actors to stand against certain political perspectives, including those normally held by conservatives. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made use of his emergency powers this past year to freeze both the corporate and personal bank accounts of people that were involved with demonstrations standing against vaccine mandates, just as PayPal announced that the firm would pull funds from any account they deemed to be promoting misinformation, a policy that the company claimed was a mistake much later.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has also spoken out to claim that his “mind is open” to the creation of a central bank digital currency before going on to add that he has “legitimately undecided” about whether the “benefits outweigh the costs.”
