Doug Casey and the War on Cash: “We Are Truly on the Edge of a Precipice”

• Doug Casey and the War on Cash: “We Are Truly on the Edge of a Precipice”
  by Doug Casey, http://www.caseyresearch.com/
  Recently, my friend and colleague Louis James, editor of International Speculator, sat down with Doug Casey to discuss the ongoing “War on Cash.” Doug reveals what people looking to protect their money should do. As the War on Cash has gone into overdrive lately, this is a timely discussion that you’ll find below.
  – by Nick Giambruno, International Man
  –
  Louis James: There have been a lot of government moves recently, making it harder for people to do business in cash. What do you think, are the days of anonymous paper money numbered?
  Doug Casey: It’s funny. First, there was a war on gold. Now, there is definitely a war on cash. It was inevitable. It’s part of a long-standing trend toward more state control of people’s finances. In modern times, this started back in 1970 with the so-called Bank Secrecy Act, which required U.S. persons to report the existence of any foreign bank or brokerage accounts. Of course, in those days, bank secrecy still existed, so many Americans simply violated the law.
  –
  That was followed by the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986. “Money laundering” is an artificial, arbitrary, made-up crime. This law opened the door to everyone having to explain where their money came from. In a free society, the only crimes considered real are those that involve aggression against another person or his property.
  –
  L: Actual harm.
  Doug: Right. But the average person today has been programmed to think it’s a crime to move money around. Anyway, the screws were further tightened with the Orwellian “Patriot Act” in 2001, which torqued both of these measures up.
  –
  But things started getting really serious with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2010 (FATCA). That made it mandatory, in effect, for all foreign financial institutions to report Americans who have bank or brokerage accounts. Of course, OECD countries and others had to jump on the bandwagon, making FATCA a global phenomenon.
  –
  In several countries, they’ve passed laws outlawing cash transactions above X dollars. It’s €1,000 in France. It’s $5,000 in Uruguay, which used to be the Switzerland of South America. In other countries, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, India, and Israel, there have been calls to ban cash entirely. Just try withdrawing a large amount of cash from a U.S. or Canadian bank these days. You’re in for an unpleasant experience.
  –
  L: And it’s not just governments.
  Doug: Large corporations, too. They are all members of the Deep State; they work hand-in-glove with the government. They dislike cash for their own reasons—mainly convenience, and to prevent theft and pilfering by employees. Many large companies have started banning the use of cash. Airlines are one example; they won’t take cash for drinks or meals on board anymore. Chase recently banned the use of cash for certain transactions.
  –
  read more.

end