FC: Lots of responses to "Fed official wants bill tracking devices"

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

I have received hundreds of responses to my article on the "carry tax," or
automatic expiry dates on US banknotes:
  http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,32121,00.html

This is more feedback -- probably 95 percent negative comments, and many of
those heated -- than I've had on any other issue I've written about in months.
Here's a sampling of just a few messages (a few copied to the plan's author,
Marvin.Goodfriend () rich frb org), with no names attached.

Yes, some comments are strongly-worded, but this is politics, and I believe
that strong language has a rightful place in political debate. So I did not
edit.

-Declan

********


. . . and I was in such a good mood when I got up this morning . . .


Why not institute a tax on Congresscritters and bureaucrats which is
directly proportional to the stupidity of their proposals?  We'd wipe out
the National Debt in a heartbeat... 


This is the most preposterous idea I've ever heard...  expirations dates on
bills.  What next?  Stamp on the forehead...


So now possession of cash is a sign of criminality or "hoarding", which was
once considered a virtue, and called "saving".
One might ask who wants to eliminate cash, and why. Did we give up the right
to be free so the bogus "war on drugs" could be conducted? It's less trouble
to make drugs legal than give up civil control of govt. And a surveillance
state is more dangerous than organized crime.


So much for kids collecting 2 dollar bills at holidays and birthdays and 
saving them in a lock box....
(My oldest has over ten of them  )


This exactly the wrong direction for the Fed, cash is already negative
interest bearing if one counts inflation.  It will fall right into the EU's
plans to displace all those $100 bills in developing countries. If the EU
was really smart they could peg the Euro to the dollar and displace dollars
within our own borders. 
However, it could also encourage private currencies, both conventional and
electronic, to displace greenbacks much as money orders now circulate in
central and south america.  All that might be needed is to manufacture
money orders with the durability of currency.


What they really want to do is force everyone to exchange
currency over a short period of time, but they know the
reaction they'll get to that.  The tax proposal is an
analogue continuous form of that exchange.
The joys of fiat money, I guess.  "This will be worth nothing
in a year, because We say so."


They're confused about at least two things technical feasibility, and the 
effect on people's willingness to accept currency.
The proposal is that all banks would have the ability to securely write 
something on the magnetic strip in dollar bills, (whatever denomination) 
but no one else would?  How long do you think that would last?  Money 
launderers wouldn't have any trouble buying access to those machines, and 
hackers would soon figure it out if there were no global shared secret.  If 
there were a global shared secret, it would be worth an amazingly large 
amount to anyone who could make it available.
Then there's the problem of what it does to the currency.  If I know that 
there are some bills out there that aren't worth their face value, but I 
can't identify them, you think I'm going to continue to accept American 
money?  Of course the big players (grocer stores) will get readers right 
away, and the sellers at the flea markets will soon follow.  If I'm left 
without the reader, I'll be sure that anyone who wants to give money to me 
must have sorted the pile in their cash drawer so that what they deposit 
has the max value.
What a foolish idea!


Sometimes I hate our government.!!!!



You know, I was just discussing a system where all money would be backed by
different commodities, and printed using ultra-thin, flexible LCDs and
embedded wireless uplinks, so you could watch the value of your money
change as the commodities backing it changed. Once again, reality has
outpaced me.


I think some of our government officials are badly in need of something 
"real" to do.  They have too much time and encouragement to sit around 
thinking up schemes like this.  Somebody should load them in trucks and drive 
them out in the national forests and give them shovels, and make them plant 
trees.


As a banker, this guy is really incompetent  he doesn't seem to know
that the FED is already doing that -- it's called inflation, and has
been in place since the 30's at the inauguration of FDR!


There are so many flaws in this system, both technical and political, that
I don't know where to start.


One can only ask, "Why?"  Why should anyone care how long a dollar bill
remains in my wallet, in my desk drawer, or between the pages of a book?  Is
there a problem out there looking for a solution? [I remember reading you went
to CIT, although you probably called it CMU.]


So right you are.  I was just so stupified that another government official
would propose a new tax for some obscure solution to some obscure problem.
I passed right by this link.   They seem to think TAX is the answer to all.
I suppose that you could even spend the tax on the new department of cash
tracking and its assiciated beauracracy.  He didn't mention that the banks
will pass the additional expense along to us the consumer for installing all
this new fangled hardware in the ATMs and for their expense in
administration.  The banks might even lower our interest rate as a result.
Oh I am sorry I forgot.  They already tax us on money we leave in the bank
and collect interest on.  
Imagine after 30 years of saving a few emergency bucks your mom needs an
operation.  You go to the cookie jar and then to the hospital to give them
the money.  There a trigger system on the cash register calls the treasury
department who sends agents to pick you up.  Not only does your private
stash owe taxes in excess of its face value but you are now prosecuted  for
back taxes due and lose your house and all else in the meelee.  Needless to
say your Mom does not get the operation.
Thanks for reporting this guy and his ideas.


He's kidding, right? Either this guy is a complete idiot or he's a mole for
a conspiracy of bankers and dollar short-sellers. Thank goodness he doesn't
have a serious job such as movie-theater usher ("I smell smoke, lock the
exits")!


Now the same people who brought us Know Your Customer want to use the
magnetic strip on currency bills for a "carry tax" if we hold our money "too
long."  The privacy-busting implications of the Fed's latest idea are
staggering.
(In olden days, we earned interest on our deposit notes; now, we just give
the government an interest-free loan when we hold currency.  Now they want
to charge us for lending them money!)


Oh, well that's reasonable - after all banks really should have more power.
(haven't followed the link yet - guessing this is a hoax?)


Are you an idiot?  Why don't you go live in some other country?  I already
pay enough in taxes, and if you can't do enough with what I'm paying now,
then eliminate your job, and while you're at it, eliminate your entire
organization.  Hey, now there's an idea, get rid of a bunch of overpaid
bureaucrats who've got nothing better to do than come up with ways to make
the average Americans life miserable.  I'd like to know how much I had to
pay to have the report put together that you presented at your boondoggle
conference.  What an example of a government that's out of
control!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm absolutely insulted that you would even propose such a preposterous
idea.  If you don't have anything better to do, why don't you go get a real
job, or better yet, crawl into a hole and stay there.  That would serve us
much better than this insane idea.


You Liberals never end your desire to increase taxes on the wildest
things you can think of.  You can not collect all the income tax due and
your going to trace cash bills? Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!


What a foolish idea; though, I suppose there is some curiosity factor
regarding the Salmon P. Chase money. The "Goodfriend" concept sounds OK
but obviously the inflationary consequences of an internal currency
destabilization have not been considered. One such consequence is that
it might drive people towards exchanging greenbacks for a more stable
currency such as the Euro. And of course, one can easily imagine the
chaos in paying for goods and services. I am sure that wiser minds will
prevail and that this bad "Goodfriend" fellow will discover that he has
made a public utterance that will have long term employment
consequences.


Marv, Old Buddy ...
===============================================================
RE YOUR IDIOTIC " Tag the $$, make it worthless " pitch ...
===============================================================
(1) Get the FUCK out of -MY- government ... you're an -ASSHOLE-
    of the 10th ORDER ...
(2) Look into your " heart of hearts " ... find some =DECENCY=,
    *IF* you have "one" ...
(3) Marv, Old Buddy ... its FUCKING SCUM like you that will bring
   this ( once great ) country to its knees ... 
(4) Marv, Old Buddy ... I am fucking speachless ... angry,
    but NOT -mad- ...
(5) Marv, old Buddy, ... do us both a -favor- ... GO AWAY.
Marv, old Buddy ... if you dont get -FIRED- , quick in a NY minute,
your BOSS is an asshole too ... quote me ... Marv old Buddy.
Marv ... the best I can "do" you is call you " Irrumate " ...
you earned it ... wear it.
Marv, you poor dumb bastard ... I bet you see the inside of 
Family Court ... soon now ... *IF* you're married ... which
I just kinda -doubt- ... 
Marv ... in -MY- BOOK ... you rank -BELOW- a Kiddy Diddler ...
Its too bad SCUM like you are 'placed' in -MY- government ...
as you are ... not much I can do about it... me, one lone person.
Fine ... swell , ... I'll go on about my 'binus' like you
-never- existed ... ?you?, just a BAD "wet" dream , is all.
I doubt too ... you have the -BALLS- to write me back ...
explain yourself, ... *if* you can  ... 


Won't businesses get screwed more with this carry tax?  Say I hoard a 
few thousand dollars for a few years, and then decide to spend it.  I 
go to my local restaurant, and they'll give me $100 worth of food for 
my old $100 with it's accumulated "carry tax".  Or will all 
businesses have to get currency readers to determine the actual value 
of the bill I give them?
Don't I already pay a "carry tax" anyway in that the currency I hoard 
isn't in an interest bearing account, and will slowly devalue due to 
inflation?


Perhaps if you'd include an email addy I could write
the fucking assholes that derive this SHIT on -my-
fucking , tax_payer -PAYROLL_
ASSHOLES !!!
WHO THE FUCK DO THEY THINK THEY ARE!
ASSHOLES !!!
QUOTE ME ... !!!PLEASE!!!
They -really- dont wanna met me out on the "street" ... at nite.
Vermin ... slime ... 
To rotten to even call a " Mother Fucker " ... perhaps Irrumate
fits ... 


Ye Gods,(in particular Hades, god of material wealth;-)!!
Let me get this straight; either I give my money to a bank , subject to what
ever fees they see fit to charge where they may invest it (and where it may
be seized & trackd), or it loses it's value. Further "The Fed should at
times prevent Americans from withdrawing cash from their bank accounts". I
hope they just mean cash, not total freezing of assets. "Let them eat cake"
I suppose? I guess possessing money is a priviledge not a right in this deep
thinkers mind. 
I guess from one standpoint all currency is government property. Gold and
jewels anyone?


my gawd! this was exactly the proposal that ezra pound made during WW2 in
one of his wackier writings. he wanted stamps on currency so that if you
didn't pass it thru the official channels every so often to get new stamps
you would lose value. he was sure jews were hoarding the wealth of the
world--in the face of such large scale inflation of the time this was
truly insane.
i think it's still pretty damn crazy.


I really DON'T want to know, but where did this sicko comes from ...and how
did he get to where he is today (position)?
As a retired electronics engineer, I would really like to fix his car ) with
a non-refundable "car tax", i.e., have certain IC chips embedded in his
private car and every time the engine it turned over - even for work in a
garage or for servicing, it would deduct a certain amount of time.  After X
amount of time, the vehicle would be dead forever.  That's just for starters.
I have additional and  more "constructive" ideas shall we say. In fact it
would really be an economic boost, since the "throwaway" car would keep people
employed, criminals could not use them as getaway cars, etc., etc. -).
Thought I put my $0.02's (if it's even worth that much) in.  I am waiting for
Robin's comment... alas he has not been heard from in centuries.


        Declan  This is much like a local currency that spread rapidly in
Austria I believe in the early years of the Depression.  The currency lost
value the longer you held it.  It was highly successful -- jump started
the economies of entire towns.  But the Central Bank of Austria stomped
out this currency because it threatened the banks monopoly over the money
supply. 
        The proposal here apparently wouldn't have that feature --
forbetter or worse depending how you look at it.


There are some glaring problems with this proposal, namely the trasferance
of the tax away from the people responsible for holding onto the money. For
instance, if I get $20 from an ATM, wait a year, then buy groceries with it.
Immediately afterwards, the $20 bill is given to the person in line behind
me, and they hold onto it for anther year. They then use this bill for more
groceries. Now, when the grocery store deposits that bill in the bank, the
store will be liable for two years worth of the carry tax, not the people
who actually held the money for the two years.



It seems to me the powers that be in Washington have completely lost their
minds.  This is nothing but another hidden tax....hold that dollar bill too
long and they will deduct some of its value as a form of punishment for so
doing.  Since such is not a voluntary contribution, it has to be another
tax.  We who live in Small Town America have had enough of such thinking.  


Whoever came up with that idea needs to be immediately removed from public
office.  That is the most insane idea I have ever heard of, it scares me that
there are people like that making policy. 


This is really a bad idea...for those who have a "lot" of cash laying around.
It also harkens to some talk a few years back of creating a "cashless"
financial system. Debit/Credit cards are o.k. if you're in a metropolitan
area,
but for those of us in rural areas cash is still the ruling financial media.
Unless banks and other financial institutions plan on upgrading all of their
systems in our rural communities this idea seems to be on the road to creating
a greater problem than it expects to solve.


This is an infringement on my personal rights!  It's not my problem if they're
having financial problems of their own.  Perhaps they should be more frugal of
their investments, instead of putting the burden on the taxpayers.
What's next, freedom of speech?


This is totally insane.
COME ON Y2K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Look fellas, it isn't April 1st.  This isn't funny.


Is this a rib?


My state and federal governments already tax my income a total of 35
percent.  The home I live it, the car car I drive and the food I eat are
taxed.  I'm forced to pay for social programs and policies that simply don't
work and fail to address the real issues.  The notion that, on top of
everything else, I may be taxed for not spending enough is outrageous!  The
Federal Reserve may have the technology to track how much cash I have in my
wallet, but I don't want them there.  There are enough real problems facing
our government today - they won't be solved or get any better by taking more
money away from me.


Mr. Marvin Goodfreind needs a good whipping with a horse whip.  Why on
earth do we need to have our cash in the bank taxed?  Why do we need to
keep it moving in and out of the bank?  Those of us that have savings
should be left alone.
Our governments, God bless them have figured out every conceivable way
to tax us but they left this one out.  Sometimes I wish these folks
would just stay home for a few years and let us earn our living and not
have to hear about the new improved system of taxation to save us money.


Based on the information I have just read about the proposal of Mr. 
goodfriend maybe we normal people don't need to use their federal reserve 
notes.


What in the world are these people in Washington smoking these days. With all 
the brains they have up there, isn't there some better way to tax people.
Why don't they put their brains together and come up with ways to cut their 
constant spending.
I am afraid that if they all put their brains together in one place it 
wouldn't fill a tea cup.
Boy, I hope they shoot this one down fast.



The idea is nonsense and UScentric, I am afraid. It does not take into
account that people can exchange dollar into e.g. Euro (^À) or Yen (that does
not have that system) nor that an alternative money market would emerge
quickly as in the old days (with the use of bonds or IOUs)
It would also boost militia-recruitment on the far right, one might suspect.
But FBI and NSA would be very happy because each note must be uniquely
identifiable in order to create a secure system, and thus traceable!


this could be the straw that breaks the camels back. everything the bankers 
and government are doing would become very obvious even to the uninformed.


Goodfriend is an EVIL person........
so now he wants us to be taxed for saving our hard earned/aready taxed
money...!!!!
this guy should be thrown out of his worthless govt job and have all HIS
savings taxed for the rest of his
life-
what a draconion/ big brother idea, on second thought , he should just
be thrown out of the country all together!!!!!!


It figures that an idea this idiotic would have sprung from the mind of
Keynes. It also figures that someone at the Fed, another Keynesian
nightmare, should propose it. It is truly an admission of the inherent
instability of the entire reserve system. 
Here's a big fat clue for 'Goodfriend' - it's OUR CASH, not YOURS. We earned
it, and we'll keep it where we please.  


Mr. Goodfriend, {what a joke}, it`s not enough that you and your fellow
banking
monopolies already can destroy those of us who are not as financially
astute as
you, now you want to attack the ones who are smart enough to save a little for
a rainy day. Most REGULAR American citizens keep a couple of bucks on their
person for an unforseen problem, i.e. milk and bread, we don`t have some
butler
waiting on us hand and foot as do you sir. I would think that someone in your
position would have a little more to worry about than someone carrying five
dollars around for as long as they please. Are you so power hungry as to want
to control every penny that some child might make selling lemonade or did you
speak before you truly thought as tends to happen when you put on that I`m the
most important person since Christ tie. I really don`t think that you`ll
answer
this as people in your position aren`t used to dealing with someone who`ll let
you know when you`ve done something truly ignorant.Thank you.



Boy it won't be long till the goverment of the former hitler reight take full 
control of  the U.S.A.  jThe Commist manifest is in full swing in America  
and Gore And Clinton are in full charge .



This goes to the heart of the difference between Liberal and Conservative.
The
Conservative believes that the money is actually ours and that we can do with
it as we will.  The Liberal believes that all "money" belongs to the
Government
and that we are just using it as they allow. Since it really isn't ours, we
can
be taxed for not using it.  This is the reason that this will ultimately
fail. 
If the Government starts taxing us on money that sits in our pocket, then we
will find other means to trade between ourselves.  The Government wants to
know
about every transaction and every sale so that they can tax it and this a way
to get that kind of power. 


The American people are learning quickly that the Federal Reserve is a
private company, not Federal and no Reserves. It came into being along
with the so-called 16th amendment which was never ratified by the
required number of states, but continues as a legal entity which it is
not. The control of money belongs to the congress even tho they gave it
up years ago. We the people will not give up control of our own
greenbacks and allow any bank to tell us how long we can hang on to our
cash. Besides, I thought "you guys" were all headed for a cashless
society. Bring back the gold!!! Gold has been in circulation for 5000
years and will always be the stabilizing force of TRUE  money and not
counterfiet Federal Reserve Notes (I.O.U.s)
Yes, America is waking up to the fractional reserve banking system. One
to 22 loan ratio. Interest bearing debt ridden economy. That is why the
banks don't want us to keep our cash. HELLO OUT THERE!



This is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard! Will they NEVER
interfering in our lives? If this is pursued any further, I believe they
will get plenty of negative feedback. Most people are pretty fed up with
the government already. And if they know the truth about the Federal
Reserve System, they are even MORE fed up. This would probably be the
last straw!


We are already penalized for the possession of wealth in paper .gov currency
form inflation. Governments inflate the money supply because printing money
(now, digital "money") is much more popular than raising taxes for .gov
program spending. The only long term way around this is to invest in
market-paper (stocks/bonds/etc.) or to buy small high-value commodities of
universal worth (coins made of precious metal, gemstones, jewelry).
A tax on currency would mean that I would insist on being paid in silver and
gold coins, or the digital equivalent. I would move even further from the
debt-slavery economy as the masters move in on one of our last unmonitored
freedoms.



All I can say is that this Goodfriend jerk couldn't have a more
Orwellian name.


Marvin Goodfriend's plan to put tracking devices in US currrency to just
what is needed to make the Euro the de facto currency of the world.  I
shared this article with a friend who was delighted with the prospect of
his gold stocks becoming worth more than he paid for them.  What a
feeling of security, to have a money belt full of double eagles!


What, ANOTHER way to milk the workers of America?  Maybe we could come
up with a sort of "reverse minimum wage" that workers would have to pay
the government as tax for time they take off work for vacation! Wouldn't
that be great? Maybe we can set it up so that if a person DOESN'T
collect on their social security benefits, the amount they've
contributed over time is assessed as taxable income and they get to pay
taxes on THAT too!  This makes me sick.


This is what happens when a government exceeds its constitutional
bounds. The government, composed of career politicians whose sole goal
is to stay in power and career bureaucrats whose sole goal is to stay in
power, believes that the people of this country exist to serve it and
that, as a consequence, all money and productivity belong to it first,
with the people getting whatever is left over, if anything. Once people
wake up to the fact that governments exist to serve the people and that
all money and productivity belong first to the people with the
government getting whatever is left over, proposals like this will no
longer even be countenanced.
That such an outrage would even be considered is a testament to how far
into a police state this nation has evolved. It's time to free ourselves
from this tyranny.


Great Article!
Keep letting us know what the Bastards think.
So They want to tax cash for holding it.
Are they purposefully trying to trigger
a second Civil War?
Short of that, abolishing the Federal
Reserve, starting with the Richmond branch,
would be a nominal first step.


This idea is not economically sound, encouraging consumption rather than
thrift.  Besides, how does one tell the difference between a bill that's
been in circulation between a dozen people and away from the banks for
years and one that's been kept in someone's wallet for the same length
of time by only one individual?  The last person who owns it before
going to the bank may have had it for only 24 hours but pays taxes on it
for two years!
Also, this plan is going to hurt the poor more than the rich, since they
can less afford checking accounts and credit cards, which won't get
taxed.  When is the last time a clintonesque style 'sensitivity'
training seminar was held over there?
There is only one reason for implementing it, and that's to give even
more control of our lives to the money lords.




WHAT WOULD BE NEXT? A FEDERAL METER SCREWED INTO THE FACE OF EVERY AMERICAN
WHICH WOULD KEEP TRACK OF THE QUANTITY OF AIR EACH PERSON BREATHES? OR AN
ELECTRONIC FEDERAL DEBIT DEVICE BOLTED TO THE UNDERPARTS OF EVERY TAXPAYER
WHICH WOULD AUTOMATICALLY DEDUCT FROM THEIR BANKING CREDIT ACCOUNT EACH TIME
THEY URINATED OR DEFECATED? WHERE WOULD THIS GO IF THE TAXPAYER HAD BEEN BLED
DRY OF HIS CREDITS? WOULD THE FEDERAL RESERVE AUTOMATICALLY FORECLOSE AND
REPOSSESS THE TAXPAYER'S VITAL ORGANS?


I have never in my life heard anything so preposterous as this malarkey!
If the US Treasury wants to levee a tax just because I hang onto $20-40
at all times in case of emergency, I must say that my bank can file a
1099 every year on my interest earnings, but there won't be any deposits
as I will start bartering my services for everything that I could
possibly need other than property taxes, utilities and postage.  Such a
hilarious proposal must be a joke as it is likely to cause mass rioting,
and anarchy would soon break out if such a thing were to get passed in
this country.  We fought a war to end taxation without representation,
but taxation WITH representation doesn't seem to be any better!
It is said this is to protect against hoarding.  Does anyone think that
anyone with a million dollars in their personal safe at their home is
going to graciously turn in all of their stash just to get some
TRACEABLE money?!?!?  This would leave all of the wealth stashed in
people's personal safes where it ALREADY IS, and only hurt the average
American who can't even afford a safe let alone have enough money to
fill it!!!  That is where the hoarding problem is - the ridiculously
rich, not with us working class folks who feel RICH when there's $200
dollars in our pockets.  Obviously when this idea was dreamed up, the
person figured that Americans will just simply swallow whatever is
handed to them - BULL SH*T!


It seems to me the powers that be in Washington have completely lost their
minds.  This is nothing but another hidden tax....hold that dollar bill too
long and they will deduct some of its value as a form of punishment for so
doing.  Since such is not a voluntary contribution, it has to be another
tax.  We who live in Small Town America have had enough of such thinking.  


Where can we vote on the "Idiot of the year?"
I have a candidate, Mr. GoodFriend.
There will NEVER be a "period of deflation
where the interest rate is zero."
There is no problem to solve.  Why don't we
pass a law that says that when people with the
last name of GoodFriend breathe, they have to
pay a $1.00 per breath tax?  I think that solves
a bigger problem.


First, the guys name, "Goodfriend" is an oxymoron.
Second, what kind of dope was he smoking?  Or was he just plain old
drunk?
It is amazing how stupid people in responsible positions can be.  The
quick answer is to convert one's dollars to another currency - such as
Yen - or maybe even Euros.
With Internet banking - it would be difficult to trace such conversions.
When will they have his sanity hearing?


It would make Nazi GErmany and Communist Russia look better than ever.
The author of this zany idea should not foreget his medications again.



Thank God for Ron Paul.  Where's George Bush?  


Now here is an absolutely marvelous idea. This way the US dollar would 
become unacceptable as an international currency because it would 
depreciating even faster that its loses due to inflation. I have read that 
there will be a wave of private currency being issued next century. This 
tax would guarentee it.


I become so angry when I read a proposal such as this (Cash Tax) that I
can scarcely express myself.  Where do these people like Marvin
Goodfriend COME from?  Where do they get these anti-freedom,
anti-liberty, anti-American, anti-HUMAN ideas?   This sort of thing has
been infesti1ng us, more and more, for many years--it's really time to
put a stop to it, and return America to fundamental freedoms and
Constitutional law. I suppose the way to do it best is at the voting
booth, but it's going to take a lot of education of the American
electorate to get honorable, decent people into decision making
positions to make this change.   
Why DON'T smart, decent people like Harry Browne, Alan Keyes, and Ron
Paul ever get elected to the presidency?  I suppose because they never
get a wide enough audience.  I say put them in the Presidential
television debates.  The Democrats and Republicans are too afraid of
that.



It should be fairly obvious that the reason the Feds want to put a mag
stripe on greenbacks is to force people to put money through a system
which can track the path of a bill.
Unfortunately, the whole point of cash is to provide people who do not
normally come into contact with a bank with a way of exchanging monies
between themselves, be it as a salary, small change at the corner shop,
or an emergency birthday present from Great Aunt Emmie who doesn't get
out much.


Carry Tax, plain insanity, bureaucrats. Nuff said.


This carry tax proposal is either fiscal insanity of a frighteningly sinister
next step in the ever tightening noose of control our government seems to be
drawing around the neck of the populace it preports to control. Either way it
needs to be defeated soundly.


Excuse the language but the idea behind taxing people who hold hard 
currency is BULL SHIT! What will they come up with next???
Can't the government ever come up with a new excuse for taxing or 
taking advantage of new technology. Many times they say one thing, and 
it is for our own protection and it winds up getting way out of hand. 
A perfect example is our SSN. This number wasn't meant to be an 
identification. But I dare someone to get a legal job w/o it. 



Let me see if I have this right.  They want to tax Americans for NOT
spending their own money?  They want to FORCE Americans into using the
banking system?
I don't think this will ever happen in my lifetime, but if it should I
see two solutions  1) Deposit all your money once a week and then
withdraw it all back out, or 2) keep a hoard of gold and a small amount
of cash.


Total assininity this is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This is simply another one of those "hairbrained" exercises into absurdity
that tends to become more prevalent each passing years among the government
"lamebrains".  This country already has one of the lowest savings rates
among the free world due to the greedy tax and waste policies of our
government.  It would appear that officials could at least do what they
espouse that kids should be doing in school.....learning something useful,
not destructive.
The total preposterousnes of any idea to "force tax" the money a person has
not "blown" simply just to get it out of his possession.


This has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. First they give
us a Federal Bank that is in reality privately owned, and now we won't
be able to take out a few dollars and stash them away. As wild as it
sounds, it is probably just what will happen. This even surpasses
Big-Brother! I'm just glad that I am a Christian and hopefully won't be
subject to this insanity much longer. When do we get the mark of the
Beast?


I suggest that any politician who even glances at the suggestion of a 'carry
tax' for cash should be removed from office immediately. They have clearly
gone
insane and are unfit for office.
What about the cash that passes hands in any number of ways, quite innocently,
without ever going near a bank? Is it going to be a russian roulette of 'well,
it's your unlucky day' when you happen to get change from a small shop
somewhere and (oh yeh) decide to bank it - then YOU get hit with the tax?  How
absolutely, indescribably pathetic, greedy, stupid and plain dumb.


        Dear Sirs,
        It is my humble opinion that whoeverthought up the idea of this tax is
BRAIN-DEAD, DUMB, AND STUPID !!!!  Also, the person who up this did not
earn his paycheck for that week.



    I can not imagine how what a miniscule amount of brains it would
take to come up with such an idea.. If this were to come law I would
refuse to accept US Currancy. It would there for make it worthless.
Horse shit would have more value than US Dollars. And of course other
things would have more value than aforementioned horse shit . I would
predict that most people would only accept precious metals, stones, food
etc.


I sent this to Marvin Goodfellow, with the subject, "More ways to destroy 
everyone but you".
Hi Marv,
How about this, as well as taxing cash.
An implant in your prostate that monitors erections.  A small transmitter 
will send the data to a low orbit satellite, and your bank account will be 
automatically debited per hard-on.
 

A carry tax is a totally stupid and unfair idea. Whoever proposed this idea
needs to come back to reality and very quickly or become a soda jerk at the
drugstore.




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