Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

“We Accept EBT,” for Electronic Benefit Transfer, is often advertised on the windows of convenience stores; that's how States give away Welfare money; they also give away Smartphones to keep track of it; it's the new Welfare coupons of yesteryear. Whether you support Welfare or not, EBT is here to stay, and probably grow, so with that in mind, it should be exercised to its full monetary potential. Primarily, since EBT is fiat currency, meaning nothing exists to back it up, it could hypothetically not cost taxpayers to support it, especially since it's all done electronically. The State could credit the EBT recipient's online accounts, and from there on it's used like any other cardless, wireless payment from their phone; the magic of imaginary money then takes over.

First, there is a fluctuating exchange rate from State EBT dollars to federal dollars. Welfare is intended to be used, not saved, so EBT dollars could age out, meaning the longer since they've been issued, the less they're worth in exchange. This would insure their quick circulation, and difficulty in gaming the system as unscrupulous vendors used to do with Welfare coupons. Next, to keep EBT viable, the State could accept fees, fines, and even taxes, in EBT dollars, and due to the depreciating nature of EBT, they would be heavily discounted, which would encourage the fine-payers to obtain and use them.

Because imaginary money can support lots of imaginary debt, much more EBT could be issued than is actually funded, and a robust secondary EBT market would surely develop to facilitate efficient use of the imaginary money; these last-second, deeply discounted transactions that would not otherwise occur, would absorb the difference between EBT versus real money. EBT could be its own autonomous financial system that served the particular needs and desires of the constituents of the State from which it's issued. EBT, one of government's greatest powers, is being underutilized due to a lack of comprehension of imaginary money.