There has been a movement for many years to do away with cash in favor of a cashless society. Some of the arguments have been the expense of maintaining paper currency (it wears out and needs replacing), security against counterfeiting, the freedom it gives to criminal organizations to do nefarious things in secret, etc. In our COVD world, I’ve told many folks that paper currency will be one of the fatalities in the not too distant future. Why? Here’s an example from personal experience.
I went into a local market to buy some goods. The clerk took my cash in her gloved hands, sprayed it with disinfectant, then rubbed it on a sponge with disinfectant and dried it with a paper towel. This was done to prevent the spread of COVID. Just look at all the mainstream businesses that no longer accept cash. Its all done in the name of health safety as paper currency is supposed to be a vector for transmitting the virus. Each time I go to my favorite bakery, I chuckle as I stand outside the front door and pay for my purchase with a credit card, yet they have a two gallon jug on the table full of cash tips! Seriously? The inconsistency of this whole thing drives me nuts.
Now with little fanfare, the United States Federal Reserve is prepared on January 1, 2021 to introduce the “digital dollar” as part of the Central Bank Digital Currency plan. I hope that makes you sit up and ask about it. You can read the fine print on the Fed website by clicking here. In a nutshell, the plan is for every single American citizen to have a central bank account (this is in addition to your current private accounts) into which the Fed can directly deposit payments to citizens. Sounds fine, right? But its more than just a baby step from direct deposit. This is the first step toward completely doing away with cash. But why is that a big deal?
Cash allows anonymity and freedom of movement. Yes, crooks can take advantage of it, but most Americans are law abiding and don’t want their every move being tracked through their buying habits. Also remember that a central bank account places the control of that account in the hands of a central agency, and most government agencies don’t care much about personal privacy. This program is being heavily lobbied by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other central banks. Its about control, and honestly, I don’t want some faceless bureaucrat holding the “kill switch” on my bank account. Blaming paper currency as a transmission point of COVID is just one more way to legitimize this stripping away of one more individual right. So what does this have to do with real estate in western North Carolina?
If you want to protect your privacy, you might consider reallocating some of your cash or other electronic funds into a hard asset such as real estate. Unlike paper or digital currency, real estate can’t be created out of thin air. It has a limited supply and demand is always there. Plus, owning a 20 acre spread and house in these mountains is something you can actually enjoy and that can provide shelter in time of need. Given the direction of things in this world, everyone should be looking at diversifying, and real estate is a great option. Call us and we’ll help you find that place here in the mountains of western North Carolina.
