The greatest financial experiment in world history is taking place right now in the East Finchley neighborhood of London…
While it may sound unbelievable, this could be bigger than the rise of Soviet Communism that collectivized all land in that country…
Or the New Deal in America that created massive government programs like Social Security…
To start the experiment, the U.K. government is giving 30 families 1,600 pounds per month – equivalent to a little over $2,000 U.S. dollars.
There are no strings attached. The families can do what they want to with the money.
Grab some pints at the local pub… get some fish and chips… pay their annual television license fee…
Not to mention rent, clothing, petrol, and anything else under the sun. Or, rather, London’s foggy weather.
The pilot is a two-year program that was developed in 2023. And it’s all part of an idea called Universal Basic Income, or UBI.
At its core, UBI is a form of social welfare that provides everyone with a minimum payment – regardless of income.
The East Finchley trial is just one of many across the world. Germany just finished a three-year pilot program, offering 122 recipients 1,200 euros per month.
In the U.S., there have been 12,000 trials across the state of California. Rochester, New York, is providing 351 citizens with $500 per month. Ann Arbor, Michigan, is providing $530 per month for 24 months to 100 recipients.
Some people applaud this utopian vision. Others may call it a “handout.”
Whether you think UBI is a positive or negative, a lot of folks are ignoring the real economic danger it poses.
In today’s essay, I’ll tell you why UBI is a Trojan horse threatening your financial privacy… and ways to protect yourself.
A Trillion-Dollar Boondoggle
UBI initiatives have many prominent backers. Billionaires such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, and Elon Musk have spoken glowingly of the idea.
In 2021, Musk stated, “Essentially, in the future, physical work will be a choice. This is why I think long term there will need to be a universal basic income.”
Yes, on the surface, it sounds like a utopian idea. But the costs will be astronomical.
Providing every American with $1,000 per month would run to $3.1 trillion per year. That’s about 13% of our $23.3 trillion GDP… or about 60% of the government’s budget of $5.1 trillion for 2023.
To fund such initiatives, the government would need to print insane sums of money to dole out to people.
That’s why I believe so many national governments are working overtime to create their own central bank digital currencies (CBDC).
And this is why UBI is a Trojan horse that threatens your financial privacy.
CBDCs are digital versions of fiat currency – like a digital dollar. According to CBDC Tracker, 130 countries are actively using or rolling out CBDCs.
If you’ve been reading Palm Beach Daily for the past few months, you know we believe CBDCs pose the biggest threat to your financial privacy today.
Let me explain the link between UBI and CBDCs, and why you need to pay attention to this story…
UBI: The Trojan Horse for the Digital Dollar
UBI offers a no-strings attached monthly payment… for everyone of every income level.
To pay for all this, the government will need digital money. It’s the most efficient way to fund such a massive transfer of wealth.
With CBDCs, they can just drop the digital dollars in your digital wallet or bank account. That avoids the hassle of mailing checks to millions of people.
That makes CBDCs the perfect vehicle to run UBI programs.
If the only way to get on the monthly payment gravy train is to sign up for it… most people won’t even think twice. They’ll jump right into the CBDC trap.
And they won’t even consider the big downside: With CBDCs, the government can track all your spending, in real time.
CBDCs are similar to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. They use the same blockchain technology. (A blockchain is basically a ledger that records transactions.)
The difference between CBDCs and cryptos like bitcoin is that bitcoin is a decentralized network.
And the ledger is used to verify transactions and avoid double spending. It’s not used to monitor the end user, who has both a public and private crypto address.
Unlike the bitcoin network, governments can see every payment on a centralized network… This gives bureaucrats insight into your most intimate financial details.
Imagine a scenario in which you donated to a program that’s on the government’s unofficial “blacklist.”
The government could lock you out of your account immediately, with no due process, and no explanation of what you did “wrong.”
That’s why it’s such a threat to your financial freedom.
Giving governments the ability to change the value of the money in your accounts at their discretion will rarely work in your favor.
If you value your financial privacy, then you need an alternative. Fortunately, we have a solution…
Move Some of Your Wealth Away From CBDCs Now
UBI is increasing in popularity. It has the support of billionaire philanthropists and many international organizations like the United Nations.
And that means countries are even more likely to implement CBDCs to fund the wealth transfer.
Many countries have already laid the groundwork. We can’t get around the fact that CBDCs are coming.
In fact, Daily editor Teeka Tiwari has been warning about this “War on Cash” since 2016. Here’s what he wrote in a December 2016 issue of the Palm Beach Daily:
Some of you might be thinking, “I don’t use cash, Teeka. Why should I care about cash going digital [with bitcoin]?”
This is about preserving your ownership rights over your cash. It’s about preserving your financial freedom and privacy.
Do you want any government agency or private party to be able to peek in on every single purchase you’ll ever make?
Do you care about stopping a bank or government from imposing a direct tax on your liquid cash? That’s what is at stake here.
In April 2016, Teeka began recommending bitcoin as a way to protect your wealth from the war on cash. Since then, bitcoin is up 7,158%.
With the ascent of CBDCs, bitcoin remains the best way to opt some of your wealth out of the traditional financial matrix. Another is physical gold.
As I mentioned above, bitcoin is a decentralized and permissionless network.
Unlike a CBDC, bitcoin’s rules can’t be changed – they’re immutable. The government can’t put any bitcoin in or take any bitcoin out of your account. And anyone can use the bitcoin network at any time. You don’t need anyone’s permission.
Physical gold is also outside the digital financial system. Its relative scarcity can protect it from the devaluation that a CBDC will see against the relentless needs of a UBI program.
Look, CBDCs are the future – whether you like it or not. You can protect your wealth from the invasion of privacy with bitcoin and gold…
And you can even potentially profit from CBDCs by investing in crypto projects helping to lay the groundwork for these digital currencies.
That’s why Teeka recently put together a new playbook to show you how to profit from the potential rollout of a digital dollar.
The playbook includes the name of a crypto project that gives you direct exposure to the blockchain technology designed for CBDCs.
And you can get started with less than a quarter. That means that if it jumps by just 25 cents, you’d more than double your money.
It’s important to act soon because governments are laying the groundwork for CBDC adoption. The UBI test ramping up in London will make history. The city has become ground zero for the greatest financial experiment we’ve seen in history.
No matter how that experiment plays out – and what you think of UBI – make sure you protect yourself by putting some of your wealth in bitcoin and gold.
Good investing,
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Andrew Packer
Analyst, Palm Beach Daily
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