Florida Overwhelmingly Passes DeSantis-Backed Bill Forbidding Central Bank Digital Currency

P. Gardner Goldsmith | May 4, 2023
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In a rare show of near-unanimity, the Florida legislature on May 2 approved a bill to institute a ban on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

Gray Rohr explains for Florida Politics:

“The House passed SB 7054 by a 116-1 vote, with Rep. Felicia Robinson, a Miami Gardens Democrat, casting the lone “no” vote. The Senate approved the measure 34-5 last week, with seven out of the 12 Democrats in that chamber supporting it as well.”

Both votes are significant, not merely for their ratios of approval over disapproval, and not just because the “bipartisan” agreement runs counter to most such moves (which typically mean bigger spending and less freedom). In this case, the votes also are notable because they represent a powerful example of federalism – the nullification of unconstitutional central government activity.

As MRCTV reported in the fall of 2021, numerous collectivists in the Biden Administration (including Saule Omarova, the Marxist he nominated but failed to see installed as Comptroller of the Currency), collectivists on Capitol Hill such as Senator Liz Warren (D-MA), globalist plotters such as those at Klaus Shwab’s World Economic Forum, and even President Joe Biden himself explicitly have praised and pushed to transmogrify the already cynical and inflationary central bank “moneys” around the world into inflationary, privacy-invading, CBDC.

Notes Rohr:

“President Biden last year issued an executive order calling for the study of the use of a CBDC as a way to protect consumers using decentralized cryptocurrencies and crack down on financial crimes.”

"Protect..."

That, of course, is the, “we’re going to prohibit you from using real, decentralized, anti-inflationary, anonymous CRYPTO” Biden rhetoric that he and others – like Warren – have unjustifiably tossed across dinosaur media in a bald-faced attempt to smear voluntary-use crypto in favor of mandated, government-controlled CBDC.

But the Florida House and Senate May 2 showed that they are not buying the Biden baloney.

Writes Rohr:

“The bill defines a CBDC as a ‘digital medium of exchange, or digital monetary unit of account issued by the United States Federal Reserve System, a federal agency, a foreign government, a foreign central bank, or a foreign reserve system’ and prohibits the acceptance of such currency by the state.”

And this, upon closer inspection, reveals even more.

In March, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a bill to forbid creation of a Federal Reserve CBDC, and numerous state legislators have proposed bills to ban the use of such a dangerous, central-bank-created fraud (a redundancy, if ever there was one).

Related: No Surprise: Sen. Warren Suddenly Dreams Up a Bill To Crush Cryptocurrency

But, while many focus on potential CBDC that might come from the Federal Reserve (which seems to be paving the way with its wholesale “FedNow” bank-to-bank money pipe) not all of these “bans” include a prohibition against a US GOVERNMENT digital currency the way this FLA bill does.

Article One, Section Eight, of the U.S. Constitution allows Congress to create money and affix the value thereof. But it does not allow the U.S. government to claim that their “money” is the ONLY money we, the residents, can use. The Constitution reserves for us the freedom to go to any money-issuer and accept currency that we believe will hold its value.

Additionally, the Constitution mandates that any money the U.S. creates must be COIN, not paper, and not “digital.” Of course, any tie between the central government and the money we use will see the central government devalue the currency, artificially create more of it, and use that artificially-created cash to fund its expanding machinery when taxes can’t bring in enough filthy lucre. The ancient Roman Empire used to call-in its coins, shave silver from them to make new coins, then reissue the lighter coins while claiming the now-debased money held the same value as it previously possessed.

Cryptocurrency – especially Bitcoin – attracts smart people who understand that they cannot retain the value of their money when that money is controlled by anything connected to a political force. And they are diligent in their research, being careful to watch for strong wording such as this bill, in Florida, which indicates that the legislators understand the dangers not only of a Federal Reserve CBDC, but also that they recognize the threat and unconstitutional nature of any digital currency that the federal GOVERNMENT might push on purportedly free Americans.

And one has to be diligent in his or her research on the various state bills. For example, a recent piece by Benjamin A. Smith, for the DalesReport claims to offer a list of “The 25 States” working to “facilitate the implementation of CBDCs.” But the list mixes states that are debating bills to “facilitate” use of CBDCs with states that are debating bills to BLOCK use of CBDCs. On the DaleReport list is New Hampshire, where State Rep Keith Ammon (R) is listed as the sponsor of such a “pro-CBDC bill” is listed. But I know Keith, and his bill is a broad attempt to protect privacy for electronic transactions and records. It doesn’t facilitate CBDC, but, instead, facilitates REAL, private, anonymous cryptocurrency.

The importance of this distinction cannot be overstated. As Rohr notes:

“DeSantis pushed for the measure, raising the specter of the federal government being able to track purchases or impose sanctions on people who buy firearms. Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis also backed the bill.

‘The last thing that our country needs is a federally controlled Centralized Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) weaponized by the (Joe) Biden Administration,’ Patronis said in a released statement. “’t’s just another way for Floridians to have their vital financial information surveilled by the Government. No one asked for this and Florida won’t let it stand.’”

This is a crucial time for our monetary freedom – which means all of our freedom, including privacy and the retention of our buying power. As a result, news like this from Florida is essential to know and share – and news from each state must be scanned carefully, making sure to separate the fraud of CBDC and government-tied faux-money from real, authentic currencies we have a right to exchange, and to exchange PRIVATELY with willing partners in free-market association.

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