the CCP “from undermining liberal democratic norms of freedom and human rights or eroding the United States’ geo-economic and strategic influence” (ibid.). Encroachment on Individ- ual Privacy and Consumer Freedom? Recall that President Biden issued the first veto of his presidency on March 20, 2023, rejecting legislation to void the Department of Labor’s rule that erodes the exclusive fidu- ciary responsibility of fund managers and pressures them to consider also environmental (like climate change companies), social, and gover- nance (ESG) factors when choosing investments. In this vein, also remember the Obama administration’s “Operation Choke Point” to control and impede consumer credit card purchases of guns or ammunition from firearms merchants and dealers, or workers getting “payday” cashing services, among other transactions it deemed undesirable. These actions provide the “past is prologue” and foretell similar constrictions to be imposed by a federal CBDC if it displaces the paper dollar as the primary or sole legal tender. In sum, the risk is that the federal government’s potential total shift to a Federal Reserve CBDC could well spell federal control over what Amer- ican consumers can and cannot buy, either by individual or by product. The Honorable Frank Gaffney, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for
F ederal R eserve A ct
In 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was passed, creating the Federal Reserve System as the central bank of the United States. This responsibility was transferred from the Treasury Department’s Comptroller of the Currency. The main goal of the Federal Reserve System was to establish a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system for the coun- try. As a result, all US dollars became known as “Federal Reserve Notes” and are currently the only official legal tender.
CBDC international financial transac- tions arena: “China’s emergence as a first mover in this space gives Beijing a significant opportunity to cement its interna- tional leadership of payments tech- nology innovation and adoption, to set economic norms and technical standards that align with its author- itarian governance system, and to increase its ability to undercut the traditional dominance of the US dollar as a source of geoeconomic and stra- tegic influence” (Digital Currencies: The US, China, and the World at a Crossroads, Hoover Institution 2022). In response, the Hoover Institution exhorts the United States to take the lead — on its own and in concert with allies and partners — and establish international standards, to prevent
(banks and loans) to the public sector (government and its related entities).
The China Currency Challenge
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which continues its adversarial chal- lenge to the United States on many fronts, including economic infiltra- tion and the military, is seeking global economic dominance to replace the US dollar as the leading international reserve currency. There is significant concern that it will seek to dominate the CBDC international financial network, as it has the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization. The Hoover Institution writes on China’s actions to move into the
44 • AMAC Magazine
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