Do you own a credit card? Does it give you a nice, elated sense of reliability? That's nice.
I used to have one. Loved it. And it was so easy to get. 19 years old, no checking account, no credit history, no job, no money, nothing. I just filled out the application and I had it two weeks later. I almost couldn't believe it, but it looked just like my dad's.
So one day (the next day), I was thinking I really ought to christen it. I went out and bought a compact disc.
Day three. I awoke and thought, "Man, that was fun."
On day 20, "Sorry sir, your card was declined." (Sound familiar?)
I realized then that Citibank had a great deal of information about me. They knew my social security, driver's license and every new phone number, .They knew exactly where I lived, even though I moved two to three times a year. I made monthly payments that would just about cover paperwork, computer time, and evaluations of my lifestyle.
They knew where I spent the money, what items I purchased, and frequency & amounts. They probably gave me ratings for payment responsibility, cooperation, spending habits and many more cross tabs that I still hadn't figured out. (Even small collection agencies use huge computers and big-time psychological analyses.) Because of that card, a "corporate enterprise" knew almost everything about me.
Now, make your own guess at how many people in this country have a credit card, or numerous credit cards. People with credit cards are the majority of money makers, voters, and opinion leaders in this nation. At the same time, everyone that possesses a credit card is, in a way, under the control of their lender.
This makes for an interesting concept. We hear the media saying that our economy is moving toward a credit system, as opposed to a currency, or commodity-backed currency system. In other words, no more money — just cards.
Well, what if the US Government controlled all the companies like Citibank, and American Express, and had full access to the information they have obtained. They would, and could, have so much information about the money makers, voters, and opinion leaders of this country entered into a supercomputer that they might just be able to manipulate them (us).
If you think about the government as a self-protecting entity, in fear of being overthrown and losing its power, it would only have one nemesis - We the People. If We the People are the only ones that could dismantle the government, what would it do, hypothetically, to protect itself? As it needs our tax money to survive, it could only watch us, isolate us and manipulate us with information.
Wait a minute. That kind of sounds like a book I read. What was it called? Oh, yeah. "1984." Maybe it should have been called "2004."
And just maybe, the new century's monetary system will require all of us to carry one card that keeps all of our information and money— and carries a heavy penalty for going without it.
Well, if you ever wondered why I don't like banks or credit cards, now you know. Big brother is watching.