Regular changes to bank notes counterfeit protection?

Now don't be daft!

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Lagarde-Christine-imfThe reason is to make keeping cash at home (or in some deposit box) futile as notes will, suddenly, no longer be legal tender and thus worthless.

There was a time when this was not done and neither did the design of banknotes change nor did they suddenly cease to be legal tender but now this is being done on a rather more or less regular basis, happening every couple of years, almost; at least in Britain.

The aim is for people to keep their money in the bank, either in a current account or savings account and thus for the banks (and the government) to have control over your money.

In fact, it has come so far by now that banks and government consider the money that you have in your bank accounts not to be yours but theirs, to do with as they please should they so decide. In the UK you now have to prove good reason for you to withdraw more than about a thousand Pounds Sterling in cash from your account and if the bank does not like the reason (and you need to have written proof that you need the money) they will refuse to give you your money.

Many people really do buy the story the government – and banks – tell abut the need for changing the design of the notes all the time in order to prevent currency counterfeiting. However, there are countries who do not do that at all, such as the USA where there never seems to be a change in design and definitely, as far as I have seen, no removal of certain designs and then declaring them to be no longer legal tender. Then again in the US it is not all that easy, especially for people in rural areas, to have a bank account as access to banks (and electronic payments) is not as widespread as is the case in the European Union, for instance.

Several EU member states, Germany among them, have already basically declared that they consider all savings that people have in their accounts fair game should they need to secure the banks in the event of another financial crash.

Now the IMF has come out with a tax – the IMF, the “International Monetary Fund”, an unelected body that is not your government or mine – of around 10% (and you have already paid tax in your country on that money) on all your assents, all the money that you have, in savings, current account, pension funds and -plans, etc. And this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg (no, not the lettuce kind).

Not so long ago the German Finance Minister, I believe, stated that all financial assets of everyone in the European Union could be subject to seizure should the governments and/or the EU leadership so degree in case of need. Remember they are talking about the money that you have worked for and saved and have in one or the other bank account. And no, before you run to the bank to get your money out; that is not going to work as they have already “safeguards” against that in place in that you will need – at least it is thus already in the UK – a good reason to withdraw cash above a certain amount (with some banks that is above £500 with others above £1000) and that in writing please. Even then the bank may decide that your reason to get your money (in cash) is not good enough.

Changing your money, slowly but surely, over into gold or silver coins, as some survivalist websites and magazines in the USA advise, is not going to be of any use either and you know why? Because you can't buy anything for gold or silver coins; they are not accepted in shops as “legal tender”.

Guess we'll all have to come up with something better...

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