With the publishing of a highly anticipated report on US central bank digital currency (CDBC) last Thursday, CDBC’s will likely get more media coverage. A CBDC would serve as a purely digital version of cash that’s backed by the Fed and just as available to the public as physical cash. This recent article describes both the pros and cons of a CDBC. One big pro is that a CBDC could bring safe, fast, and accessible payments. An example of a con is:
(more…)Category: Money 2.0
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What Is The Future of Credit?
Just as we thought that credit and debit cards were about to completely supersede cash, there are now new payment systems that could take over and make plastic cards obsolete altogether. As mentioned in a post exploring those things that are Likely to Disappear in the Next Ten Years, credit cards may soon be out of circulation, likely within the next ten years.
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While everyone will still be able to pay by credit, the rectangular bits of plastic that are used as a mode of payment will likely disappear from our wallets soon. It is actually starting now, as many of us are beginning to rely on our phones, smart watches, and other mobile devices to pay. There may come a time when no device is needed at all. Payment systems will work via facial recognition, as is already happening in China, and soon enough, the rest of the world.
In the US, credit cards are still very prevalent. Data collected by Statista shows that about 83 percent of Americans between 30 and 49 years old own a credit card. This is why most banks and companies still use traditional methods to establish a credit score. A post by Petal Card on building a good credit score outlines how the number is calculated in the US through five main factors: -
Visualizing How Money Works
My continued research into solutions for some of our most pressing societal issues led me to an incredibility good book that simplifies the concepts behind modern monetary theory. Author J. D. Alt uses visualization to simplify the theory, making how money works easier to understand. His book – Diagrams and Dollars – was recently added to my Book Library. The book’s premise is that we have the way money is created and its flow through the system backwards.
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Can We Fund Solutions to Education, Healthcare, and Climate Issues?
Last week. I posted about modern monetary theory (MMT) and how it challenges conventional wisdom regarding deficits.
In her recent book titled The Deficit Myth , Author Stephanie Kelton – Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Stony Brook University – explores the tenets of the theory and its implications to government spending. Progressive agendas aimed at solving the challenges of education, healthcare, climate change and others look at modern monetary theory as a possible solution. In contrast to borrowing money or raising taxes, the monetisation of government expenditure (its financing by the central bank’s creation of money) is costless, in that the government does not have to pay interest on cash.The attention garnered by MMT has drawn its share of critics. In the interest of understanding both sides of this debate, I read a book titled Modern Monetary Theory and its Critics. The book is a series of essays edited by Edward Fullbrook and Jamie Morgan. As the authors state: in the wake of the decade of fiscal austerity following the Global Financial Crisis, and the apparent exhaustion of standard monetary policy strategies and the ever-increasing income disparity, interest in MMT has grown beyond academia. The skeptics provide a different point of view. As we search for answers to our pressing issues and strive to think differently, it’s prudent that we keep an open mind to these new ways of thinking, while at the same time, understanding their limitations. I recommend the book, which I have added to my Book Library.
Inside the Next Transition 