Today in Congress: Discussing the Road to Sound Financial Policy
Join us on Capitol Hill!
Later today, my colleagues and I will be on Capitol Hill to discuss the road to sound financial policy. We plan to cover the case for prohibiting the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), strengthening financial privacy, reining in the Federal Reserve, and other reforms. You can find details about the briefing on the official event page here.
With that said, I recognize not everyone is in the DC area. So for those who may not be able to make it, I’ve included a few pieces below that I plan to highlight during the briefing.
1. Digital Currency or Digital Control? Decoding CBDC and the Future of Money
I may not have time to walk through the entirety of my book at the briefing, but I do plan to outline the key lessons. Namely, CBDCs pose significant risks to financial privacy, freedom, and markets. Furthermore, CBDCs would open the economy to new cybersecurity risks while also jeopardizing the function and independence of central banks themselves. Yet, what is probably worst of all is that CBDCs fail to offer any unique benefits that offset these costs and justify the government’s intervention in the market. It’s for these reasons that Congress should prohibit the Federal Reserve from creating a CBDC.
2. Banks Are Narcing on You Because Congress Forces Them To
Even if CBDCs are successfully stopped, there is still work to be done to strengthen financial privacy. As I explain in this piece for Reason, our financial information is often considered among the most private aspects of our lives—we cover the keypad at ATMs, shred financial statements, and use multifactor authentication for online accounts. Yet what we really have is the illusion of financial privacy. Our information might be shielded from much of the general public, but it is not shielded from the government to the same degree. It's time to end this decades-old practice of forcing banks to act as informants. Congress should repeal the laws underpinning this regime and restore financial privacy.
3. Sound Financial Policy: Principled Recommendations for the 119th Congress
Last, but not least, this policy guide provides practical solutions to reduce excessive government regulation and involvement in financial markets. That includes recommendations that cover cryptocurrency, housing, investment, and monetary policy.