politics for the 99%

Published on ASIA TIMES, by ASIA UNHEDGED China, Jan 21, 2016.

The People’s Bank of China BPOC on Wednesday said it wants to issue its own digital currency to cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money, boost policymakers’ control of money supply and improve the efficiency of global transactions.

The central bank set up a research team in 2014 to study digital currencies and application scenarios, according to a statement posted on the regulator’s website.  

The PBOC said it consulted with teams from Citigroup and Deloitte, though it didn’t specify what technology it would be using to issue its digital currency or how it would work in relation to the yuan … //

… ZeroHedge concludes: The big problem with this thinking is that capital — which begins its life as savings — is the foundation of capitalism. If you attack savings as a scourge, you are attacking capitalism and upward mobility, for only those who save capital can invest it to build wealth. By attacking cash, the central banks and governments are attacking capital and upward mobility.

The benefits to banks and governments by eliminating cash are self-evident:

• 1. Every financial transaction can be taxed.
• 2. Every financial transaction can be charged a fee.
• 3. Bank runs are eliminated.

(full text).

Bail-Ins Related Links:

• Portugal-Style Bail-ins, the New Norm under Dodd-Frank? on CATO AT LIBERTY, by Mark A. Calabria, Jan 20, 2016;
• Revolutionen, Chaos & Monster-Crash, nächste Welle der Banken-Bail-Ins hat begonnen, auf Propagandafront, von Martin Armstrong, Jan 17, 2016;
• Let The Bail-Ins Begin, on Armstrong Economics, by Martin Armstron, Jan 16, 2016;
• Europe Fears Bail-Ins: Capital Flight Intensifies in Italy, France, Spain; Are German Banks Safe? on FX street/Mish’s Trend Analysis, by Mike ‘Mish’ Shedlock, Jan 11, 2016;
• Investors cry foul over bank bail-ins, on Financial Times FT, by Martin Arnold and Thomas Hale, Jan 7, 2016;
• EU enters world of bank bail-ins, on in-cyprus, by Reuters, Jan 5, 2016;
• Making bail.in work, on Breakingviews, by Hugo Dixon, Jan 4, 2016;
• A Crisis Worse than ISIS? Bank Bail-Ins Begin, on The Market Oracle.co.uk, by Ellen Brown, Dec 29, 2015: at the end of November, an Italian pensioner hanged himself after his entire €100,000 savings were confiscated in a bank “rescue” scheme. He left a suicide note blaming the bank, where he had been a customer for 50 years and had invested in bank-issued bonds. But he might better have blamed the EU and the G20’s Financial Stability Board, which have imposed an “Orderly Resolution” regime that keeps insolvent banks afloat by confiscating the savings of investors and depositors. Some 130,000 shareholders and junior bond holders suffered losses in the “rescue …; same on Counterpunch, Dec 30, 2015;
• Consultation outcome: Bail-in powers implementation, on Gov.uk/HM Treasury, Updated Dec 12, 2014;

more articles about bail-ins:

• http://www.maxkeiser.com/tag/bail-in/
• http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/quarterlybulletin/2015/q302.pdf
• http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/54cda5e4-a6ac-11e5-955c-1e1d6de94879.html#axzz3xZizrj6K
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11947986/EU-takes-member-states-to-court-over-bail-in-laws-to-protect-taxpayers.html

Definition of bail-ins:

• on Financial Times ft.com/lexicon;
• on en.wikipedia: Bailout; /Bailout vs bail-in;
• more bail-in definitions on Google Web-search;