White House hopeful RFK Jr. says instant payments may lead to ‘financial slavery’

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed documents with the United States Federal Election Commission connected April 5 to tally arsenic a Democratic statesmanlike campaigner successful 2024, according to aggregate quality reports. He is expected to officially denote his candidacy connected April 19 successful Boston, Massachusetts. As reports of his candidacy spread, Kennedy tweeted his presumption connected cardinal slope integer currency (CBDC).

Kennedy, the nephew of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and lad of erstwhile U.S. lawyer wide Robert F. Kennedy, is an biology lawyer who gained notoriety arsenic an anti-vaccination activist. By moving for the Oval Office, helium would situation existent President Joe Biden, besides a Democrat.

Also connected April 5, Kennedy posted a tweet connected the perceived dangers of CBDC. While CBDC is becoming an progressively governmental contented successful the United States, Kennedy’s connection stood retired for its bluntness. There was besides immoderate factual confusion.

“The Fed conscionable announced it volition present its ‘FedNow’ Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) successful July,” Kennedy began. While the Federal Reserve said it volition launch the FedNow instant outgo strategy successful July, it volition not beryllium a CBDC and is often seen arsenic a rival to a imaginable aboriginal government-backed CBDC.

The Federal Reserve has repeatedly stated that it would contented a CBDC lone with a Congressional mandate.

In enactment with galore opponents of CBDC, Kennedy paints a worst-case script of a “CBDC tied to integer ID and societal recognition score,” disregarding the galore plan options for a privacy-protecting CBDC. The instauration of FedNow “is the archetypal measurement successful banning and seizing bitcoin arsenic the Treasury did with golden 90 years agone contiguous successful 1933,” helium concluded.

Related: CBDCs ‘threaten Americans’ halfway freedoms’ — Cato Institute

Kennedy is acold from unsocial successful his absorption to CBDC. Many CBDC opponents are connected the right, however. The Republican politician of Florida, Ron DeSantis, whom galore expect to participate the 2024 statesmanlike race, stated successful a speech that “the cardinal slope integer currency is each astir is surveilling Americans and controlling behaviour of Americans.” Republican Rep. Tom Emmer introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act into Congress successful February. Senator Ted Cruz has besides introduced a measure to block the improvement of a retail CBDC.

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren is moving for reelection connected a beardown anti-cryptocurrency platform. She is perchance the astir vocal hostile of cryptocurrency successful U.S. Congress but has expressed her support for CBDC. In airy of his volition to denote his candidacy successful Boston and his family’s beardown ties to the state, Kennedy besides seems apt to tally arsenic a campaigner from Massachusetts.

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