Switzerland is one of three primary nations at this point in time who have implemented negative interest rates (NIRP) in their financial system. But as the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Federal Reserve themselves start to propose the need to ban and eliminate physical cash before they set their own NIRP policies, politicians in Switzerland are rejecting this argument and in fact are comparing the ending of cash to the equivalent of removing gun rights and individual freedoms.
On Feb. 18, two Swiss politicians spoke out against the growing capital controls being implemented throughout the Eurozone as a war not on terror or drugs, but on civil liberties and individual freedoms. In fact, Philip Brunner and Manuel Brandberg, members of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, not only gave their support for keeping Switzerland’s high value currency bills (1000 Francs), but are even suggesting the creation of a 5000 Franc denomination as a way for people who seek capital flight out of countries who might ban physical cash to move into Swiss banks as a safe haven.
We were even more surprised when we read that in Switzerland, the place which offers the highest denomination banknote in Europe, the 1,000 Swiss Franc note (and the second highest in the world after the Singapore $10,000 note) two politicians, Philip Brunner and Manuel Brandberg, members of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, have proposed a motion that they hope Zug will support for a cantonal initiative seeking changes to the federal currency law.
They argue that the creation of 5,000-franc notes will ensure that the Swiss franc maintains its status as a safe haven currency.
In this context “cash is comparable to the service firearm kept by Swiss citizen soldiers,” the pair argued in their motion, saying they both “guarantee freedom”.
“In France and Italy already cash payments of only up to 1,000 euros are allowed and the question of the abolition of cash is being seriously discussed and considered in Europe, “ Brunner said on his Facebook page.
The move toward electronic payments allows governments “total surveillance” over individuals, the pair claim. – Zerohedge
The elimination of cash in commerce and individual holding is a form of capital controls that intrinsically removes rights from the people, and allows the state to coerce financial behaviors onto their citizens. A completely electronic banking system would force everyone who buys goods and services to register a bank account in which the government or central bank can then tax savings, limit withdrawals, and in some extreme cases, freeze accounts of individuals they feel are acting against national security, or against any whimsical state agenda.
The combination of negative interest rates and the elimination of cash proves once and for all that the multi-century era of central bank dominion over the monetary policies of nations has failed. And instead of allowing banks and insolvent financial entities to fail and go insolvent because of their own risky and fraudulent speculation that threatened the entire global financial system just eight years ago, the standard response as always is to take it out on the common man who has done little to cause the world’s economic collapse.
“I have a feeling, in a few years people are going to be doing what they always do when the economy tanks. They will be blaming immigrants and poor people.” – Mark Baum, from the movie, The Big Short
