Despite the popularity of private monetary systems like Bitcoin and payment systems like Venmo, governments around the world are still pushing for the creation of "central bank digital currencies" (CBDCs). But what are these currencies and what would they mean for societies? Glenn plays 3 clips from officials around the globe who have explained exactly why CBDCs — which ARE coming — are "imprisonment dressed up as freedom."
TranscriptBelow is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: So I just saw that Bitcoin is down, what $537 today?
STU: Panic!
GLENN: Yeah. I know. Panic. It is incredibly -- it's almost up to 40,000 again. It's like 38 or $37,000 now per Bitcoin.
STU: Legitimately incredible.
Considering, there's been a slew of bad news over the past year. People may know Sam Bankman-Fried. There's a big finance thing that happened last week.
GLENN: But you also have the government saying, we're never going to do that. We're going to introduce our own fed coin.
STU: Yeah. Elizabeth Warren, is not on board.
So if Elizabeth Warren is on board, should you be?
I mean, shouldn't you agree with whatever Elizabeth Warren says.
GLENN: She's not on board for --
STU: She's not a big fan of Bitcoin. I'm sure she would be fine with that.
But does not want Bitcoin.
This is decentralized. They don't have control of it.
So, of course, people don't like it. But it is interesting to see. This is a big part of what the Argentinian, the guy Milei has done there.
He's a big Bitcoin guy.
You know, there's --
GLENN: I would love to see.
STU: A lot of the candidates are pretty good on this topic as well.
Including, even, I would have to say, RFK Jr is good on this. I'm not a fan of.
Ramaswamy is big on this.
DeSantis has been really good on the Central Bank Digital Currency.
People are like, why is he even talking about this a year ago is if
Well, I think we've seen how important it is.
GLENN: Let me show you. Because I want to put together a show next year on CBDC. And show what it really is.
Let me just show you a couple of things that I've found here recently.
Cut 11. This is a Dutch political commentator. On Central Bank Digital Currencies.
Because this is happening all over the Western world. Listen.
VOICE: If we accept the fact that a QR code grants us access to society, what makes you think, that they won't link that to anything else except for your vaccination status?
What if that green screen on your phone, that grants you access to society, turns red the moment you take a flight. Or you eat meat too much. Or you didn't recycle your plastic yesterday? How dare you.
What if that green screen on your phone, that is linked to your digital wallet. That's filled with nothing more, but -- I'm going to say it.
Central Bank Digital Currencies.
Will turn red, the moment you say, something the government classifies as hate speech.
What if they can turn off your life, at the push of one button.
If they can do it to China, they can do it here.
Ladies and gentlemen, freedom that is limited to those who do and say exactly what the government wants to do and say, is no freedom.
It's imprisonment, disguised as freedom.
And we need to see it for what it is. If we want to turn this around, that is.
We need to wake up. We need to speak up.
We need to say no. Draw a line. And disobey these laws.
GLENN: Now, listen in Australia, here's a politician in Australia, warning the Australians about Central Bank Digital Currencies.
Cut 50.
VOICE: Every month, the Trusted Digital Identity Bill represents a watershed moment in Australian history. We stand at the divide between a free personal enterprise future and a digital surveillance age.
If nothing is done to stop this bill, government will sit in the middle of every interaction Australia has had with each other and with the world.
And achieves this in the same way that China does.
By creating a digital identity, that forms a central part of a person's life. You can call it a license to live.
What began with perfect contact tracing, vaccine passports, and QR check-ins will soon be formalized by an inescapable digital identity.
It signals the complete end of consumer privacy, the end of citizen enormity, and the beginning of a Big Brother digital age that treats the people of Australia as products rather than free human beings.
The government intends to build a complete digital record of every Australian, to be shared and used.
Our medical history. Our shopping preferences. Who we associate with.
Whether our choices are really so-called green. Social Security. Veteran services.
Travel records. Website viewing. Employment data. And social media comments.
Everything will go on the record, and be available to any large corporation that can pay for access.
GLENN: Now, let me give you one from the United States.
This is a member of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve. This is the president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank.
This is what he says about CBDC's. Central Bank Digital Currencies.
Do you think that that is something you should be looking into seriously? And to what degree should you be looking into it seriously?
What are your thoughts on CBDC?
VOICE: My colleagues at the Federal Reserve may have talked about it. We are examining it.
I'll tell you, my personal bias is I'm pretty skeptical. I keep asking anybody, anybody, at the fed. Or outside the fed. To explain to me, what problem this is solving.
I can send anybody in this room, $5 with Venmo right now. No, seriously. So what is it that a CBDC can do, that Venmo can't do?
And all I get is a bunch of hand waving. Like, well, maybe it's better for financial inclusion. Maybe, it's better for cross-border -- maybe. Is there any evidence that it is?
And, you know, they say, well, what about China?
China is doing it. Well, I can see why China would do it. If they want to monitor every one of your transactions, you can do that with the Central Bank Digital Currency. You can't do that with Venmo.
If you want to impose negative interest rates, you can do that with the Central Bank Digital Currency. You can't do that with Venmo. And if you want to directly tax customer accounts. You can do that with the Central Bank Digital Currency. You can't do that with Venmo.
I get why China would be interested. Why would the American people be for that?
STU: Yeah.
GLENN: So this kind of goes into what I'm talking about tonight, on TV. Gaslighting. Do you know what that term even means?
STU: Yeah. I did. I didn't for a long time. But I do now.
GLENN: Yeah.
STU: Mainly because so many people say it, I made myself look it up. And I was like, what does this even mean? I don't even understand it. And it is. I mean, it is -- it is really -- it seemingly is really going on.
GLENN: Oh, my gosh.
I'm going to prove it to you tonight.
STU: Okay.
GLENN: First of all, I'm starting this show tonight, going back to the 1940s, and showing you where, you're being gas lit. They're gaslighting you. Where that term came from. Where that went.
It's important context. Because the polls are in.
The two issues Americans are most concerned about right now. Number one, the economy. Number two, immigration.
And the gaslighting on these two issues from the Biden administration and the media, are -- it's crazy.
It is crazy town. Bonkers. We're being lied to about the state of the economy. We're being lied to, about what's happening at the border.
Tonight, I will show you the real numbers. And they are a little shocking.
They're a little shocking.
Don't miss tonight's Wednesday night special. 9:00 p.m. Eastern on Blaze TV.
9:30 on my Eastern channel. YouTube.com/GlennBeck.
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We'll see you tonight, at 9:00 p.m.