• zephyrvs@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Research Central Bank-issued Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and specifically the so called “programmable money” parts of them. Central Banks and states are creating stuff like money that has an expiration date or that can only be spent on certain approved products and services.

    Cash is privacy and no one can estimate your “climate footprint” based on its use while their class keeps on riding their private jets to World Economic Forum and other oligarch conferences.

    This is not some futuristic stuff. All big countries are heavily invested in CBDCs, have pilot programs and some are already using them.

    • Rikudou_Sage@lemmings.world
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      1 year ago

      I mean, that’s a thing for quite some time, except now it’s moving digital. Here we have something like food tickets (can’t think of better translation now) which are untaxed and can’t be used for stuff like cigarettes, alcohol, gambling etc. And they have an expiration date. Every company here has to provide its employees with either a company cantina (is that the correct word?) or the “food tickets”.

      • zephyrvs@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        What’s creepy and disgusting now can quickly turn absolutely dystopian soon. Image states pairing up these systems with social/climate credits and possibly AI. I don’t get why this is mainly debated in loony right-wing circles when it’s clearly something that’s technically feasible, and if not yet, then it’s just a matter of time.

      • Greg@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        I think that implementing food tickets, unless there are significant environmental concerns such as war, post-war situations, or famine, could have various benefits. But I see no benefits for the receivers of these food tickets. Unless if they are horribly underpaid which is actually a bigger issue.

        • Rikudou_Sage@lemmings.world
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          1 year ago

          The benefit is basically untaxed “money” - by law every company has to provide food for its employees for cheap. Think like $5 for a really big portion of good food. Some companies don’t have the means to provide it so they give the employees food tickets instead.

          • Greg@feddit.de
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            1 year ago

            That is an excellent observation.

            Could you please provide more information about the current shortage that is preventing working individuals from being able to purchase food or have access to nearby dining establishments like cantina for lunch? What about individuals who are currently unemployed? Will they need to use their savings for groceries, or is it necessary to be employed at all times, similar to the situations in North Korea or China?

            • Rikudou_Sage@lemmings.world
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              1 year ago

              No shortage, we just have laws that think about people’s well-being, which might seem weird to people from some countries. Unemployed people get unemployment money for some time (I’m not sure how long, it used to be 6 months, but I never needed this, so I’m not sure if anything changed in the last 15 or so years), provided they worked for some specific amount of time prior (I don’t know how long). If you have savings, you can use savings, obviously. Not sure what your deal is, but I live in an EU country, which is not similar to China or North Korea at all.