McWilliams: Bit of a stretch
Letter to the editor
Heads up, marijuana industry and customers of Colorado:
If the Federal Reserve is not stopped by pending federal legislation from issuing Central Bank Digital Currency, then I believe it will only be a matter of time before the federal government seizes control of Colorado’s marijuana industry.
Because Colorado’s marijuana industry is built upon cash as the sole medium of exchange, once the Central Bank Digital Currency is in force, the federal government and central banks control the creation, distribution, and exchange of “virtual money,” and cash will soon become illegal and whatever remains of Colorado’s cash marijuana industry will disappear.
That said, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has introduced legislation (S. 887) to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency directly to individuals. Sen. Cruz’ bill was cosponsored by Sens. Braun, R-Ind., and Grassley, R-Iowa.
S. 887 will prohibit the Federal Reserve system from issuing a digital currency directly to individuals. It would maintain the Federal Reserve’s ability to issue physical currency and will continue to allow decentralized digital currencies such as Bitcoin.
Specifically, the legislation prohibits the Federal Reserve from developing a direct-to-consumer CBDC, which could be used as a financial surveillance tool by the federal government, similar to what is currently happening in China.
Therefore, I strongly suggest to all Coloradans that you do as I have and contact U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper (via their official websites) and inform Colorado’s two U.S. senators that you expect them to vote yes on S. 887.
Carl McWilliams
Glenwood Springs