Disturbing news has leaked today that some JPMorgan Chase customers are receiving letters informing them that the bank will no longer allow any cash to be stored in safety deposit boxes.
The details of a post on the Collectors Universe message board, a site for currency collectors, suggests that stuffing bank notes under the mattress may soon make a comeback.
The new safety deposit box agreements apparently contain the following clause:
“Contents of the box: You agree not to store any cash or coins other than those found to have a collectible value.”
The letter, entitled “Updated Safe Deposit Box Lease Agreement,” was sent out to customers at the beginning of the month.
It seems the too big to fail bankers are phasing out accepting cash, as last month it instituted a new policy which, “restricts borrowers from using cash to make payments on credit cards, mortgages, equity lines, and auto loans,” writes Professor Joseph Salerno of the Mises Institute.
The news arrives on the back of deeply disturbing comments by Citi’s Willem Buiter, who recently advocated abolishing cash altogether in order to “solve the world’s central banks’ problem with negative interest rates”.
It’s not just banks, the agent of government, that are waging this war on personal freedom. Last month it was also reported that the Justice Department is ordering bank employees to consider calling the cops on customers who withdraw $5,000 dollars or more for their own bank accounts.
This news is troubling because just two days ago Greece confiscated all bank balances of municipal governments. The electronic transfers were done without the consent of the owners of the money or the account signatories. At the push of a button funds were moved without any consent.
It is not a stretch to assume that if things got bad here a similar tactic would happen only it would main street Americans who’s savings would be wiped out at the press of a key.
Another disturbing aspect to this is what having a cashless society does when combined with comprehensive surveillance like that conducted by the NSA. Without cash, the NSA and whatever other secret police organizations are part of the club could literally track and trace every single transaction by every single person.
That is a deeply scary thought and one which is not far removed from our current reality.
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