Australia Prioritizing the Creation of a Wholesale CBDC


Posted Sep 19, 2024 By Martin Armstrong |  

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is rapidly developing a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) as developed nations move toward a cashless society. RBA Assistant Governor Brad Jones announced that the bank is launching Project Acacia next month, with the goal of developing a wholesale CBDC within the next three years.

The first form of this digital currency is not yet intended for retail, but extensive research has gone into determining how Australia can transition away from hard currency. Last year, the central bank partnered with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Center (DFCRC) to determine the best methods to begin transitioning away from the Australian dollar, with reports last stating “a CBDC could be viewed more as an enabling complement to, rather than substitute for, private sector innovation.” The program studied corporate bond settlements by the Australian Bonds Exchange, tokenized FX settlements, as well as offline payments from ANZ bank. The pilot program was met with some difficulties, but the central bank is now committed to uncovering the proper method prior to deployment. “Some uncertainties related to the bespoke nature of the pilot CBDC itself. For instance, the pilot CBDC was issued as a contractual liability of the RBA rather than under a legislative framework, as would likely be the case if a decision was ever made to issue a CBDC in the future,” the report added.

Jones indicated that industry forums will begin in 2025 to discover methods for deploying both wholesale and retail methods. “We have benefited significantly from engagement with industry and the academic community on various CBDC issues over recent years, and we now seek to put more structure around this dialogue,” he said. “These forums would play a similar role to those the RBA has convened in recent years with economists from industry and academia, to hear different views on monetary policy issues.”

For now, wholesale CBDC and tokenized commercial bank deposits are the priority. Jones called recent developments “revolutionary,” as they very well will change our monetary system. About 98% of the global economy, or 134 countries, are exploring methods to launch CBDCs successfully. The Australian Government will be the final decision-maker on the matter, and rest assured all governments are eager to implement an effective digital currency as soon as possible as they believe they will see a large uptick in taxation as no “money” can find its way off the grid under this system. Some of my sources say that governments believe they can increase taxation by up to 35% under a cashless society. “If cash usage continues to decline, it has been suggested in some jurisdictions that a retail CBDC may be needed to preserve monetary sovereignty,” Jones further stated.

Supplemental Poverty Measure on the Rise


Posted originally on Sep 19, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

poverty

The latest Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPMfound that at 12.9% of American households currently rely on government assistance, up from 12.4% one year prior. The figure was at 11.8% in 2019 and has risen every year under Biden-Harris. The data only factors in US households and not the tens of millions of illegal aliens who also rely on US government handouts.

Around 42.8 million Americans were in poverty in 2023, up from pre-pandemic levels of 38.3 million. We saw poverty levels decreased during 2020 and 2021 when the US government was providing nearly everyone with some sort of assistance to combat wages lost from COVID lockdowns. Those measures simply contributed to inflation and made it harder for those in poverty to move on without government aid.

The SPM factors in tax credits, noncash benefits, social insurance, and market income minus nontax expenses. If only factoring in market income net of necessary expenses, the number of Americans in poverty swiftly rises to 77.8 million. Social insurance programs are now factored into these resources so the data has declined by 28 million, and the addition of SNAP and noncash benefits reduced the figure by another 6.6 million. This certainly does not mean there are less impoverished people living in the wealthiest nation in the world.

Data can be manipulated easily to portray a strong economy. Simply put, more Americans have fallen into economic decline in recent years under Bidenomics. The data would be unbelievable if they actually took into account the migrants who are also living on government aid, and receiving more in aid than Americans citizens who paid into the system.

Countries Grow Weary of United Nations


Posted originally on Sep 17, 2024 by Martin Armstrong

UNFavorability2024

The majority has always accepted the United Nations as a world governing force. Sentiment may be changing according to a new Pew Research Center survey that found support for this global conglomerate waning across the globe.

Of the 35 countries surveyed, 58% still have positive sentiments about the organization, but 31% see it as a negative power. Unsurprisingly, nations in the Middle East, like Israel, no longer support the alliance, but we are seeing declining confidence everywhere. Israel has long held unfavorable views, with 72% holding unfavorable views of the UN; 82% of Jewish Israelis now harbor resentment for the UN compared to 53% of Arab Israelis. Support among Israelis has fallen by 21% in the past year, and of course, the reason goes without saying.

Yet, this phenomenon has expanded everywhere, with over half the people in Japan, Greece, Tunisia, and Turkey falling out of favor with the organization. Support for the United Nations fell by 10 points in the United Kingdom, with 62% of Brits seeing the organization favorably compared to 72% one year ago. Mexico, South Africa, and France all experienced a 9% drop in confidence, with Germany down by 8% and South Korea, America, and Australia all reporting a 5% drop. Only Hungary (15%) and Argentina (6%) expressed increasingly positive views.

United Nations 2

Perhaps the people no longer see the United Nations as a neutral entity meant to play peacekeeper among nations. The world is waking up and realizing that this organization is rapidly growing in power and attempting to form a one-world government. The majority of those in the West have seen their leaders heed domestic policy in favor of international at the insistence of the United Nations, which partners with other global conglomerates like NATO to impose laws on citizens in nations where they simply have no jurisdiction.

The United Nations displayed the extent of their power during the COVID pandemic, and now are championing climate change initiatives and continually calling for governments to submit to their direction. This organization is pushing for the Great Reset with its Agenda 2030.

The International Monetary Foundation (IMF) has been spearheading the push to replace the sovereignty of individual states with a UN-backed global authority that will control everything from our digital identities to the direction nations take in war and trade. Then, they argue that nation-states should begin paying taxes to this entity over individual governments. According to our models, the United Nations, as we know it, will come to an end by 2031 following the old League of Nations.

Essex Police Employs Biometric AI Data!


Posted originally on Sep 13, 2024 by Martin Armstrong |

Those in Essex, England, may have recently seen facial recognition trucks driving through the streets discreetly compiling data. England has long employed CCT cameras to capture criminal activity, but police in Essex are now using advanced biometric data to track each and every citizen.

Essex is using Corsight AI biometric software for its civilian monitoring program. The company has expanded its services across the world. “Our mission is to radically enhance the world of facial recognition technologies while holding ourselves to the highest ethical standards in personal privacy protection,” the Israel-based company states on its website. They can embed their software within existing cameras and track down individuals based on their biometric data.

Biometric Police Enforcement System9

The ethics behind such measures present a challenge. Who has access to this wealth of data? Individual organizations in the UK must obtain permission and be transparent about their policies, but no such restrictions exist for the government. We have seen countless data breaches in recent years, with independent hacker groups infiltrating every supposedly secure data center. Civil liberties groups believe the government is infringing upon human rights by spying on their every move, but governments no longer permit individual freedoms.

The last significant law that was passed surrounding these measures was in 2018 when the UK put forth the Data Protection Act that details how personal data may be collected, processed, and protected by law. Naturally, the government claims that they are only collecting data for public safety and will not misuse the technology. The law remains vague and technology has certainly advanced since 2018.

Yet, the UK is calling Corsight AI a victory and citing clean-cut arrests made using the technology. “In Southend, there were also five positive alerts, which resulted in two arrests—one for harassment and one for sexual assault,” police stated. Police claim that Corsight AI is primarily monitoring known offenders, people on watchlists, and “protected vulnerable individuals at risk of harm.” The program claims it “almost instantly” deletes user data if they do not meet the aforementioned criteria.

“Our live facial recognition technology is used to locate people we want to speak to in connection with ongoing investigations and to manage people with court orders or conditions. Criminals cannot think they can walk around our communities without being caught,” claimed Assistant Chief Constable Andy Pritchard calls Essex Police.

UK Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner Fraser Sampson admits that private companies will have access to user data. “We, the people, are now using sophisticated surveillance tools once the preserve of state intelligence agencies, routinely and at minimal financial cost,” he writes. “We freely share personal datasets – including our facial images – with private companies and government on our smart devices for access control, identity verification and threat mitigation. From this societal vantage point it seems reasonable for the police to infer that many citizens not only support them using new remote biometric technology but also expect them to do so, to protect communities, prevent serious harm and detect dangerous offenders.”

All of this is based on the premise that the government is there to protect citizens rather than treating everyone like a potential criminal.

Other nations will soon adopt this technology that was once reserved for warzones. Israel is using the program in its hospitals to identify deceased victims from the war with Hamas. The Mall of America has employed the service to deter shoplifting but public surveillance measures in the US have been met with a pushback. Paris used the AI service to monitor the crowds at the Olympic games.

The government must tighten its grip on the public as we move into 2032. We have seen the government take tyrannical measures to restrict freedom of speech both in person and online. Now, governments want to track their citizens’ movements, and the public has no say in the matter.

, governments want to track their citizens’ movements, and the public has no say in the matter.

Fading Industry in the West as Energy Policy Consequences Surface – The Grey Zone Surge Begins


Posted originally on the CTH on September 10, 2024 | Sundance

For those who have followed my travels, research and granular reviews into the background motives of the multinationals, an article within Politico catches my attention and I hope it may be of value for an enlarged conversation.

At the beginning of my post-COVID economic research, I noted all of the proactive investments by the big multinationals would benefit from a diminishment “western” economic dominance.

Specifically, I noted that if you look at the investment footprint -where the multinational corporations actually put all of that money they have been extracting from the Western consumers, you will see they have spent the past generation investing heavily in the “GREY Zone” within the map below.  With that reality as the backdrop, would the multinationals lose or benefit from the “Build Back Better” agenda that pushed the YELLOW zone into a system of forced drops in the standards of living?

What you will note from the post-COVID “build back better” pushers, also not coincidentally the same interests who pushed the Russian sanction regime, is their investments in the grey zone act as offsets for the current collateral damage.

In essence the multinationals created a win/win.  Their BBB policy within the yellow zone intentionally drives prices higher, while their investments were hedged creating low ‘total cost of goods’ (TCG) manufacturing systems outside the West.  I previously said we should watch this supply chain carefully because from an economic standpoint we (nationalists) would suffer, the multinationals (globalists) would not.

Now, I want us to look at the first indicators of this dynamic – shared through the prism of the Politico article [excerpt below]:

POLITICO – […] Before the [Russia v Ukraine] war, the annual electricity bill was about €80,000. It’s nearly doubled since then, said managing director Christoph Keim, son of the company’s founder, a chemist who got his start after World War II with a company making disinfectants. Prices for customers rose, while profit margins shrank. 

Eventually, costs receded. Relief came. But things didn’t return to their pre-war level. Instead, Keim entered a troubling new normal, where energy prices are double those of overseas rivals.

That reality is slowly eroding thousands of similar companies across Europe’s industrial heartland. Germany, Europe’s manufacturing powerhouse, has fallen into a recession expected to extend through the year’s end. Even global German stalwarts like Volkswagen, a name almost synonymous with the mighty Das Auto itself, are staring at unprecedented plant closures.

More broadly across the EU, output from key energy-intensive sectors like chemicals and steel is declining. Plants are shutting down. Industrial champions are announcing layoffs. (read more)

I hope everyone takes the time to read the full article.  While the context is specifically focused on Europe, the BBB consequences apply to the USA also via Joe Biden and Kamama Harris energy policy.

In essence, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy; one you might note is exactly the preferred outcome of the Barack Obama worldview.  The West spreads the wealth to the Grey zone, then the 3rd world (non west) starts to replace the economic strength of the West because they are not restrained by the insufferable policies of the climate control/energy policy group.

The West ends up in a position where we cannot compete not only on the issue of ‘cheap labor’, the historic problem, but also on the issue of cheap reliable and abundant energy production.

On the financial side, the citizens within the Western Build Back Better zone suffer through inflation and massive losses in stand of living, while the alternative areas gain the benefit of better competitive manufacturing prices.  The multinationals simply shift the area from which they make money.

The “exfiltration of wealth” we have previously discussed, ends up as investment into manufacturing systems we cannot compete with.

The attendees of the World Economic Forum benefit because the multinationals who make up the WEF assembly have prepositioned their assets and investments.  This is being done by design.  None of the downsides to this energy policy affect the WEF bank accounts, the only people who suffer are the citizens forced to pay higher prices and fewer jobs.

This dynamic is not going to stop unless the West immediately reverses course on energy production.

In the biggest of big pictures, as the collective governments of the world are increasingly under the influence of the WEF corporatism model, now you can better understand why so many people are watching the 2024 election and hoping for President Trump to achieve victory.

This reality also underlines our catchphrase, “there are trillions at stake,” while simultaneously emphasizing why this globalist cabal wants to see him eliminated.

Please keep this geopolitical and economic shift in your psyche as you look at all of the machinations taking place within the world of USA politics.  What would the WEF assembly do to retain their intention.  Nothing should be considered “off the table” if you can draw a line from the visible action you can see toward the benefit they would assume.

Will Rate Cuts Help Canada?


Posted originally on Sep 5, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

The Bank of Canada building

The Bank of Canada voted to cut rates by 25 bps to 4.25%, marking the third consecutive rate cut. Inflation has allegedly slowed to 2.5% as of July, and Governor Tiff Macklem said that was reason enough to drop rates to attract investment.

“If inflation continues to ease broadly in line with our July forecast, it is reasonable to expect further cuts in our policy rate,” Governor Tiff Macklem said in a prepared opening statement. Canada’s GDP grew at a faster rate than anticipated during Q2 after growing 2.1% vs the 1.8% forecast. Unemployment remains high at around 6.4%.

The bank acknowledges that these cuts will not impact the housing market. “With the share of CPI components growing above 3% now around its historical norm, there is little evidence of broad-based price pressures. But shelter price inflation is still too high. It remains the biggest contributor to overall inflation, despite some early signs of easing.”

Will these rate cuts cause any major changes in Canada’s economy? Absolutely not. In 2016 under the Liberal government, the total private debt of the Canadian public exceeded the total national GDP for the first time in history after reaching 100.7%. Canada’s national debt spiked to $1.501 billion USD in March of 2024, a $1.423.3 billion USD increase from March 2023. Gross debt was 117.2% of GDP in 2021, above pre-pandemic levels at 105.6^ in 2019. Half of Canada’s debt comes from the federal government while the other half is from provinces and local governments who have been given the green light to continue spending.

CanadaHouseholdDebt

Canada is deeply indebted and now ranks the third-highest nation in terms of household debt in the worldI reported in July how household debt exceeded 100% of GDP with no signs of slowing under the Trudeau Administration that recklessly spends with no end in sight. Switzerland and Australia are the only nations exceeding Canada’s debt levels. Government debt has SOARED in recent years, now exceeding C$1,139.98. This figure was only C$721.36 billion in 2020 before Trudeau used the pandemic as an excuse to bulk up social programs.

The population of Canada has exploded to the highest level in history thanks to open border policies. Canada, like all the other Build Back Better nations, has the funds to support every foreign interest and war while placing their citizens last. Rate cuts can do absolutely nothing when the government is borrowing against future generations.

Trudeau: Let Them Eat Donuts


Posted originally onSep 5, 2024 By Martin Armstrong   

I commend the restraint displayed by this Canadian citizen. Failed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attempted to campaign to workers in Ontario who were utterly underwhelmed by his presence. Trudeau praised the 25% tariffs he placed on Chinese steel. “So that’s going to help me keep my job?” the citizen remarked.

No, tariffs NEVER work and the tariff on steel has only led China to retaliate. Trudeau’s Administration believes China’s “intentional, state-directed policy of overcapacity” is undermining Canada’s ability to compete and they plan to slap a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum from China, as well as a 100% tariff on EVs. China is the third-largest supplier of steel to Canada and Trudeau believes these tariffs “level the playing field for Canadian workers.”

China claims that this “will damage trade and economic cooperation” and “violated the WTO rules.” Over a million Canadians are actively seeking jobs and unemployment remains high. The central bank may have cut rates citing lowering inflation, but Canadian families certainly are not seeing their costs lowered. Canadians are struggling to find housing or to maintain the costs of their current homes. Demand far outweighs supply and the newcomers from foreign nations have tipped the scales.

Trudeau brushes off the comment from the citizen who is outraged that he pays 40% in taxes and lives the same life as his unemployed neighbor. This is how the world works under socialistic policies where equality voids hard work from the equation and does not amount to a better life. Canadians are watching their tax dollars being redistributed to those on social welfare programs. Billions are sent to Ukraine despite Canada having ZERO involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war. Healthcare and basic necessities have become luxuries under Justin Trudeau.

The people who created the problem cannot solve it. Canadians have watched their economy decline under Trudeau, not to mention a complete alteration of their society due to a rapid change in demographics. “I think you are only here for another year, we won’t see you around in another year,” said the steel plant employee told Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau continues to show no empathy toward the average Canadian. “He’s got the donuts! Excellent!” Trudeau said to end the conversation. Sorry that you cannot afford housing or to see a doctor despite giving the government nearly half of your paycheck. Let them eat donuts.

Hungary Fined for Limiting Asylum Seekers – Is it Time to Break Up with the EU?


Posted originally on Sep 4, 2024 By Martin Armstrong

 

The European Union has fined Hungary for failing to accept its delegated quota of migrants. Hungary has refused to pay the fine €200 million fine issued by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Will this be the issue that finally breaks ties between Hungary and the European Union?

Hungary is constantly at odds with the elite in Brussels who wish to impose a one-Europe government over all member states. The EU has taken over trade, currency, and domestic law for each member. In June, the ECJ found the nation guilty of “unprecedented and exceptionally serious breach of EU law” for limiting the number of asylum seekers. “That conduct constitutes a serious threat to the unity of EU law, which has an extraordinarily serious impact both on private interests, particularly the interests of asylum seekers, and on the public interest,” the judges said.

HungaryBillboard.EU_.Soros_.VonLeyden

“It seems that illegal migrants are more important to the Brussels bureaucrats than their own European citizens,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated. None of Orban’s policies align with Brussels and the EU has been actively ostracizing Hungary for its independent positions.

The fee has already been claimed as the European Commission plans to deduct the 200 million euros from Hungary’s portion of the European Union budget. Worsening relations, the ECJ is considering placing a 1 million euro DAILY fine on the member nation for ignoring the ruling, in addition to the 200 million it has already claimed.

The European Union is actively destroying Hungary’s economy. The EU has repeatedly sided with Ukraine over the ongoing oil dispute. Orban has been the target of unwarranted hate since he met with both Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to hold peace talks. EU diplomats and foreign affair officials boycotted  Hungary’s rotation to hold summits and discuss its ideas for the bloc. They claim each state is a member but they are willing to completely ignore and silence member states who do not blindly comply with Brussels.

Orban does not want to fund Ukraine or involve itself in the war against Russia – strike one. “My job is to convince them to shift from the pro-war policy to a pro peace policy,” Orban said. “They believe that they can destroy the military [of the] Russians … but I don’t believe this at all, because I know the Russians, I know the Soviet Union, I know the Ukrainians. I’m belonging to a neighboring country. I know the whole context. It’s impossible to find a solution on the battlefield, we will lose every day thousands of innocent people,” Orban told CNBC, also adding that “human life is the most precious thing we can lose,” citing the thousands who have already died in this endless war.

In addition to this, there are trade tensions between Ukraine and Hungary. Hungary and Slovakia are exempt from the EU ban on Russian crude oil. These landlocked neighbors are to receive oil through the Druzhba pipeline, but Ukraine has prevented these nations from receiving shipments. Lukoil may be the main supplier using this line, but Russneft, Tatneft, and Gazprom also utilize this line, leading Ukraine to intervene. Hungary is blocking aid to Ukraine as a result, but Brussels has repeatedly told Hungary it is in the wrong.

There is no European Union. There is a European authority within the pretend union that controls all members. The United Kingdom was wise to leave the EU when they had the opportunity, as this power-hungry bloc WILL become more tyrannical as the European economy turns down, war turns up, and member states begin to question the entire alliance. One must ask who actually benefits from the European Union’s regulations and absence of protections.

Average Americans With Maxed Out Credit Cards Can Settle With Companies For Pennies On The Dollar


Posted originally on Rumble By Bannons War Room on: Sep 2, 2024 at 07:00 pm EST

Kinsey: Tax Network USA Serves As A Buffer Between You And IRS To Protect Your Rights


Posted originally on Rumble By Bannons War Room on: Sep 2, 2024 at 07:00 pm EST