The War On Cash

It's quite ironic that as the US Federal Reserve devalues American money into abyss, yet the American government is trying to instill more and more controls on the increasingly worthless dollar.

What's sad is that the US government now employs cash sniffing dogs at airports with the typical government explanation of "for your own protection." This is also known as a capital control. The Soviet Union did this as well. Usually when governments devalue their currency significantly enough, history has shown that governments employ capital controls. Currently one is required to declare $10,000 when entering the country or leaving the country.

Sure, it is true that terrorists and other types of criminals usually operate on a cash basis; however, this does not mean that every person who carries large sums of cash is a suspicious character. It's quite funny that many parts of the world are cash based societies. Countries such as China, for example, have a mostly cash based economy. It is not so common to see people whip out their credit cards to pay for things, as in the United States.

Last, since I did spend several years working in banking, I will warn you if you regularly deposit larger sums of cash at the bank. While the laws may have changed, last time I checked, banks are required to fill out a form known as the CTR (Currency Transaction Report) any time a customer deposits or withdrawals any amount within 1 cent over $10,000. This CTR report goes straight to the IRS. The bank does not have to tell you they are sending this report.

If you are a customer who has been depositing and withdrawing larger sums of cash regularly and the bank believes it is "suspicious." The bank will file what is known as a SAR (Suspicious Activity Report), and for people using cashiers checks and money order, the form is known as MIL (Monetary Instrument Log).

With this in mind, if you report foreign bank accounts, cash exceeding $10,000 (silly since 10K is not much money these days), you are being a law abiding citizen and this is good; however, one has to wonder what exactly does the government do with this information? As a citizen I feel suspicious of the government's actions and feel like I am being watched. Not to mention, with the financial meltdown of 2008 being a reminder of the Great Depression, more people have less faith in our financial system; therefore, more people carry cash.

 With the idea of a cashless society becoming more of a reality under a fiat currency system, there is no better way to spy on citizens then to watch were their money goes. Some may think it's for their protection, or believe they have nothing to hide, but what about privacy? What about private property? Without opening a new can of worms and completely different topic, it's quite obvious something is wrong with our tax and monetary system.