> if you don't use your budget by xyz date, you lose it
It doesn't apply to cash or my bank account. I do not want that to change. I will not support a tool that would enable this.
> Food stamps can only be spent on food
Those are not cash. Those are effectively gift cards for use at a grocery store.
> you must meet specific criteria for tax credits, etc.
Yet the tax credit is paid in cash. You can do with it as you will once you receive it. I will not support a tool that would change that.
> Some businesses will absolutely not take your money without extensive KYC already
The fact that a problem already exists is not an argument in support of making it worse.
> Banks already arbitrarily shut down bank accounts with no recourse.
Once again that doesn't justify actively making things worse.
> The whole point of money is that it's the common means of exchange, it's not very useful as money if only some people use it.
Many countries apply controls when converting to or from foreign currency. China in particular is known for this. Does that mean that their currency isn't useful to the people who live there? If the poor aren't permitted access to traditional cash they would have no choice but to use the CBDC whether they wanted to or not. At least aside from outright bartering, which is even less flexible.
> > money that can have its spending and issuing rules changed quickly and easily by the current government of the day
> That's already the case today.
No, from the perspective of the individual it absolutely is not. If I have US cash or even a balance in a bank account in the US the government cannot "quickly and easily" modify the rules by which I can spend it. Particularly for paper cash their only options seem to be either to outlaw a particular sort of transaction and hope the police can enforce that (doesn't work, see drugs) or reissue the currency to force me to exchange it for something that they have more control over such as a CBDC.
It doesn't apply to cash or my bank account. I do not want that to change. I will not support a tool that would enable this.
> Food stamps can only be spent on food
Those are not cash. Those are effectively gift cards for use at a grocery store.
> you must meet specific criteria for tax credits, etc.
Yet the tax credit is paid in cash. You can do with it as you will once you receive it. I will not support a tool that would change that.
> Some businesses will absolutely not take your money without extensive KYC already
The fact that a problem already exists is not an argument in support of making it worse.
> Banks already arbitrarily shut down bank accounts with no recourse.
Once again that doesn't justify actively making things worse.
> The whole point of money is that it's the common means of exchange, it's not very useful as money if only some people use it.
Many countries apply controls when converting to or from foreign currency. China in particular is known for this. Does that mean that their currency isn't useful to the people who live there? If the poor aren't permitted access to traditional cash they would have no choice but to use the CBDC whether they wanted to or not. At least aside from outright bartering, which is even less flexible.
> > money that can have its spending and issuing rules changed quickly and easily by the current government of the day
> That's already the case today.
No, from the perspective of the individual it absolutely is not. If I have US cash or even a balance in a bank account in the US the government cannot "quickly and easily" modify the rules by which I can spend it. Particularly for paper cash their only options seem to be either to outlaw a particular sort of transaction and hope the police can enforce that (doesn't work, see drugs) or reissue the currency to force me to exchange it for something that they have more control over such as a CBDC.