US presidential hopefuls are making it clear they would not support any proposals for a central bank-backed digital US dollar ahead of the 2024 elections. This emerging issue has become a flashpoint for potential candidates, with some Republicans introducing legislation to ban such direct-to-consumer CBDCs.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announced his candidacy for president but is widely expected to run, has made it clear he is opposed to a digital dollar and has proposed legislation to prevent the federal government from deploying one in his state. The governor’s press secretary, Bryan Griffin, said in an email that DeSantis is trying to head off any attempts “to control people’s behavior.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis his preemptive ban on a Federal Reserve central bank digital currency: “They want go to a cashless society. Once they’re in a cashless society then they… could prevent you from spending your money the way you want. It would be like a Social Credit System.” pic.twitter.com/1sQq4i5p6l
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 23, 2023
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Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has announced his presidential run, has emerged as a critic of the digital dollar. In a lengthy tweet, he appeared to conflate US digital cash with an unrelated Federal Reserve service known as FedNow. According to central bank officials, that program is scheduled to come online this year and would allow US banks to offer customers real-time payment services.
The claim that FedNow is not the first step toward a CBDC would be more easily digestible were we not aware of the Biden administration’s steady barrage of hostile broadsides against cryptocurrencies.
Between 2008-22, the Fed partnered with a handful of big banks to print $10…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) April 10, 2023
David Primo, a political science professor at the University of Rochester, said politicians like DeSantis and Kennedy Jr. are “very different people”; they share a “populist approach to politics.” “They very much view the government with suspicion, and as a result, it is natural for them to point to this new, untested idea of a CBDC and use that to galvanize their base,” Primo said.
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is dead set against CBDC and explained his position clearly at Saint Anselm College.
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Ramaswamy was animated and firm about CBDC on Tucker Carlson.
Every GOP candidate needs a clear answer to CBDCs: hell no. https://t.co/uB7aGOoH78
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) March 14, 2023
Proponents of a CBDC have argued that it could offer real benefits, including making payments — especially cross-border payments — faster and ensuring the dollar’s dominance in the global economy. Some Fed officials have said it could be beneficial for settling certain financial-market transactions, such as interbank transfers.
The government has also indicated it would prefer to have private-sector intermediaries offer accounts and facilitate CBDC payments rather than take on that role itself. Supporters have argued it can be tailored to protect consumer privacy, which the Fed has also said is critical if it decides to move forward.
However, critics have argued that a CBDC could destabilize the banking sector and allow the government to surveil US citizens, potentially leading to a Chinese-style social credit system.
The issue of a digital dollar has emerged as a flashpoint for potential candidates, with some Republicans introducing legislation to ban such direct-to-consumer CBDCs. While the idea of a CBDC is far from reality in the US, it has already faced backlash from Wall Street and other banks, which are worried about it acting as a direct competitor to private bank deposits—digital-asset companies like Circle Internet Financial, which issue stablecoins, have also pushed back against certain CBDCs. Circle’s Head of Global Policy, Dante Disparte, said he’d be opposed to a digital dollar if it allows the Fed to control users’ access to funds, compromises privacy, or disrupts a two-tiered banking and payments system.
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In addition to the potential appeal to libertarian voters and constituents in banking and crypto, pushing back against a US digital dollar can provide a relatively safe avenue for candidates to attract votes from people who have rallied around the anti-CBDC movement.
A cashless society based on a digital dollar faces widespread political opposition, proponents of CBDC often attempt to write off the opposition as conspiracy theorists and believers in a United Nations plot to implement a new world order, but the ACLU and most Afrifiran Americans also oppose it.
Say No to the “Cashless Future” — and to Cashless Stores: The bottom line is that the technocratic “dream” of a cashless society is a vision in which we discard what is left of the anonymity that has characterized urban life since the dawn of modernity, and our freedom from the power of centralized companies like banks.~ACLU
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, the issue of a central bank-backed digital currency is becoming increasingly relevant in the political sphere. When Ron DeSantis and other candidates join the ACLU and African Americans in opposing a digital dollar, it’s clear that the elites aren’t going to have an easy time of it.
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