Titillating Tidbits: Blocking CBDCs

It’s a slow-news day in terms of any one big story, so I don’t have much to comment on, other than a few news tidbits of interest:

Fed Governor Waller adds to the weight of statements by other Fedheads who have spoken since the FOMC meeting, saying he will need “several months” of improved inflation data before he would even consider a rate cut. That comes even after the last CPI report that gave the first blip down for inflation in months. (See “CPI’s Little Head Fake.”) He does not see an increase in rates as likely. So, the Fedheads have been consistent in agreeing with me on this—NO PIVOT for several months to come at the earliest. (I alway add one caveat: All bets are off if they’ve managed to blow the entire economy and banking system up prior to seeing enough months of improving inflation data and rising unemployment.)

Several states have taken steps to block the use of central bank digital currencies within their states. That is a welcome step that will slow down the adoption of CBDCs. The Fed had indicated some significant moves toward a US CBDC would happen a year ago, but their “distributed ledger,” which is the backbone of such a system, was a failure. It couldn’t handle the volume of transactions—not even close. I haven’t heard much about it since, so maybe those hushed failures have sent it back to the drawing board. (If anyone else knows otherwise, please let us know in the comments. It just goes to demonstrate how secure central-bank digital currencies are certain to be.)

Biden has ordered that the entire northeast gasoline reserve be drained in order to combat gasoline inflation this summer … and then be permanently closed. At the same time, the State of California has just upped its battle against Big Oil with tax moves intended to make petroleum products more expensive for California and surrounding states. That product price inflation by taxes will, of course, eventually get priced into everything made in California.

The EPA is prioritizing “Net Zero” carbon release over electrical-grid reliability, which means electric vehicles are certain to be a disaster down the road when they cannot get electricity. So is everything that runs on electricity when 1) the price of all electricity rises because of EV demand in face of extreme shortages; and 2) brownouts or “rolling blackouts” become widespread around the nation. Washington State, in the meantime, is pushing for electric vehicles and electric ferries at the same time that it has been blowing up hydro-electric projects to save salmon. Apparently, EVs are intended by “progressives” to run on fantasy fuel. That is why they won’t pollute the earth. They will run on electricity that doesn’t even exist.

The International Criminal Court, long famous for World-War-II Jew-killing Nazis to justice is now switching over to bringing Jewish wartime leaders to trial, particularly Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking of scary Germans, World-Economic-Forum leader Klause Schwab, the guy who looks like he should be petting a white kitty in a James Bond movie, is stepping back from his top roll as executive CEO and will now just be the chairman of the trustee board. Since the WEF runs like a family operation, he probably has a Mini-Me who will step in. That should work out well:

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Forum said that the organization is “transforming from a convening platform to the leading global institution for public-private cooperation….”

The annual WEF meeting in Davos attracts dozens of high-ranking world leaders and CEOs each year, with more than 50 heads of state attending in 2024….

The Forum operates much like a family business, with Schwab’s children appointed to high-ranking positions and his wife Hilde heading the organization’s foundation and awards ceremonies in Davos.

In recent years, the Forum has shifted its focus towards the center, and away from liberal politics…. The Forum has also been navigating a difficult political landscape, and has steered back toward the center in recent years after embracing progressive directions in culture and finance.

Not sure about the truth value of those statements of reform, but that is what they now say, anyway.

Meanwhile, the Vatican has ruled in the past that aliens, if they ever visit from other planets, can be baptized. So, that should set things straight. The “catholic church,” does mean the “universal church,” so I guess it is taking that scope further along its natural path of migration. Maybe they are planning their first mission on a planet near Aldebaran. The news is that they will soon be releasing the Vatican files on UFOs so we can see what is behind their interest.