First it was a policy of reporting anyone who deposits or withdrawals more than $10,000 in cash. Then a chief economist from Citigroup calls for the abolishment of cash entirely. And now on April 21, J.P. Morgan Chase is unlawfully enacting a new policy where customers cannot store cash in their safety deposit boxes, nor will the bank allow customers to use cash to pay on debts such as credit cards, mortgages, equity lines, and auto loans.
There is a war on cash going on in the U.S. banking system, and at the heart is the desperate need for the financial system to go entirely electronic since manipulation of the monetary system can only be fully employed if the banks no longer need physical money on deposit or onsite.
Letters are apparently going out to some JPMoragnChase customers announcing that cash will be prohibited from being stored in the bank’s safety deposit boxes.
At the Collectors Universe message board, a commenter reports:
My mother has a SDB at a Chase branch with one of my siblings as co-signers. Last week they got a letter outlining a number of changes to the lease agreement, including this: “Contents of the box: You agree not to store any cash or coins other than those found to have a collectible value.”
Another change is that signatures will no longer be accepted to access the box. The next time they go in they have to bring two forms of ID and they will be issued a four-digit pin number that will be used to access the box then and in the future.Professor Joseph Salerno of the Mises Institute writes:
As of March, Chase began restricting the use of cash in selected markets, including Greater Cleveland. The new policy restricts borrowers from using cash to make payments on credit cards, mortgages, equity lines, and auto loans. Chase even goes as far as to prohibit the storage of cash in its safe deposit boxes . In a letter to its customers dated April 1, 2015 pertaining to its “Updated Safe Deposit Box Lease Agreement,” one of the highlighted items reads: “You agree not to store any cash or coins other than those found to have a collectible value.” - Economic Policy Journal
Federal Reserve Notes, which are the currency of law in the United States, are a protected form of legal tender used for the payment of all debts; both public and private. And to deny acceptance of them by a business or bank is to run up against Federal law and court precedent.
There is an old axiom in economics that states, if you don’t hold it, you don’t own it, and that possession is 9/10 of the law. And the ability to hold physical currency, or real money like gold and silver, is a freedom that keeps people from bondage and keeps both the governments and banks from controlling your choices.
When a government or bank begins to implement controls that hinder the free use of money, then it is only a matter of time before even greater restrictions are imposed on both property and persons. And like recent examples in countries like Greece, Cyprus, and even Switzerland, where changes to monetary policies instantly affected the entire financial landscape overnight for tens of millions of people, this move by J.P. Morgan Chase to restrict the lawful use of currency is a warning that the banking system in the U.S. is on incredibly shaky ground, and that your money and accounts held in a bank no longer are protected, or under your control.
Kenneth Schortgen Jr is a writer for Secretsofthefed.com, Examiner.com, Roguemoney.net, and To the Death Media, and hosts the popular web blog, The Daily Economist. Ken can also be heard Wednesday afternoons giving an weekly economic report on the Angel Clark radio show.
