Valerian Texeira

Thanks to the era of DIGITAL Information Technology (IT) that our world galloping in today. With its wide-spread broadband internet connections it is ushering a new economic age of E-commerce, E-business. Most important in this regard is its innovative electronic or the digital money transaction (“credit card” its partial form) technology. In which the money payment/receipt in-between any two parties necessarily conducted through a “third party”, a bank or financial institution that provides this most important “financial service” and in the process all its “INFORMATION” gets instantly recorded and stored in this legally registered public institution. Under which it is impossible for any one to cheat, deny or hide the true accounts of their money and all its transactions from the public or legal scrutiny when authorized.

Traditional Reason For Hiding Money In CASH:

Traditionally the genuine reason for people to keep their money hidden and not to display its true amounts to the public, is to PROTECT  it from  getting stolen or looted by the thief’s or the buglers! Most importantly the fear of getting robbed, or lost while carrying it around for the transaction. Nevertheless from ages the cash money remained indispensable or quintessential to conduct the value (commodity) exchange or the transaction most efficiently. However today this newly emerging innovative  electronic money transaction can fulfill all the needs of the traditional CASH money transaction far more efficiently. Together with, it would entirely remove all such potential threats or the genuine fears of robbery, stealing, theft, by this revolutionary technological system.
Money Basically A Public TRUST:

Money is basically a public TRUST. It puts a social responsibility and the legal obligation on all those who owns it over and above a given limit that they should maintain and submit its truthful accounts before the designated public authorities for its legal scrutiny and not to use it for unlawful, illicit purposes.  However the conventional cash money transaction between any two parties got no such effective technology to monitor and record its movements and know all its location all the times to prevent it from getting misused. Thus it becomes possible for the unscrupulous individuals to totally hide it or submit its false accounting before the legal authorities in breach of its public trust, and engage into many kinds of its “misuse”, clandestine business practices, criminal use or the surreptitious money dealings.
Cash Money Hiding Ability Breeds Corruption:

Of course, most of the cash money transaction, business in our world conducted lawfully.  However a significant number of this cash money amounting to enormous sums kept hidden away from the legal scrutiny or collected and employed unlawfully. The number one among is the ubiquitous economic crime of tax fraud or the evasion. Along with its cheating and depriving the public revenue it also puts the other people around in the money market competition into a very disadvantageous position thus pressurizes, encourages or tempts  many among them also to commit that crime. Same is true with  other economic crimes and the most notorious among is the BRIBE. There are number of such economic crimes, corruptions that I will mention some of them in the latter sections. It is mainly due to the cash money (currency) basically having this “concealable” property that gives its possessor the ability to hide it from its legal scrutiny that could lead into its surreptitious transactions. So it begins to spoils the economic system, start to breed corruption.  And the corruption breeds more corruption, crime begets crime.
Establishing MANDATORY Electronic Money Transaction (MEMT):

Now the emerging IT’s digital electronic money transaction economic system that I mentioned at the beginning, if pursued deeply further and made mandatory in all money transaction (except in very small trade dealing in very small amounts in smallest denominations, in coins) could provide the most effective technological weapon and the great historical opportunity to eradicate almost all of the “illicit” money transactions.
Under this MEMT economic system all commerce trade, business, buying and selling in the super markets, shops, (except the very small one) trading of any commodities should be made only through the medium of the electronic money. Similarly all wages, salaries, services, incomes, profit, earnings, bills, receipts/payments, deposits made in the same money form.
The MEMT undoubtedly could revolutionize the entire economic system. First of all, it would make almost every money transaction, deals TRANSPARENT. Perhaps a credit card feature can be added into the “cell phone” so one can access or check their bank account, make money payments and deposits, any time with passwords mainly in biometrics. Most important in all this is that its underlying “Information Technology” makes it sure that every money  transactions conducted between any parties gets “automatically” recorded before  the legally authorized money transaction service providing financial office, under which it is impossible for any one to cheat, hide, or deny the true accounts of their money and all its transactions that in turn could be made available to its democratic public, legal or the judicial scrutiny whenever authorized.
A Universal Social SURETY Number (SSN) To Every One:

Under this MEMT system most importantly, every person in a nation should have a single universal Social SURETY Number (SSN) like a birth certificate, registered in its SSN central office. First and foremost, it should basically have the authority  to access to each individuals financial accounts. It could be somewhat like the ”Social Security Number” (SSN,) already in place in some countries. Together with its authority, it should also should have the prime responsibility of providing the basic social security, employment or the minimum income guaranty, health insurance, educational aid for the poor. Importantly as well, people above a given income bracket should submit their total annual income, including the property accounts (like filing income tax return forms) and pay all their taxes under its jurisdiction. Be it the nations top leaders, presidents, prime ministers, corporate tycoons, CEO’s, down to the common man. All should come under this universal SSN jurisdictions network system.
This MEMT and its account monitoring SSN network system also needs to be applied to all fields where valuable commodity transaction or handover takes place including exchange of gift, donations, financial helps property ownership transfer etc. No barter trade of property, precious metals, valuable artifact should be allowed. All valuable items a person, organizations, institutions owning registered as property in the annual account and its records maintained under the SSN system mentioned before.
Such a mandatory electronic money transaction economic system operating under the SSN network would turn itself open or transparent before the legal scrutiny. It would basically dissuade or deter people from engaging in any of the economic crimes or corruptions because that essentially leaves the electronic money trail as a clear evidence that could be impossible for any one to get rid off. It could be evidently traced back always to those individuals accounts so they get prosecuted with the concrete evidence of its electronic money transaction trail.
Some Main Economic Crimes It Could Prevent:

Tax fraud and the bribe are the two major economic crimes that this MEMT can undoubtedly prevent. Apart from it, the black money, money laundering, counterfeit money, ransom money, the money robbery/theft/ stealing, etc., will have no basic grounds commit those economic crimes as there are no such CASH money available in the first place to carry it out! All kinds of smuggling, trafficking, illegal drugs, weapons, ‘Terrorist Funding’ etc., mafia, will have no hiding place to safely collect, hide or exchange their money.
Credit card fraud/fake/theft, or the fear of getting it lost and its misuse mostly will become inaccessible in the MEMT set up. With its biometric ID and the SSN network system in place it would be highly difficult for the fraudster to buy things online with complete anonymity or to commit any of the credit card crimes. Because in such electronic money sphere all proceeding money transactions can be immediately traced back to its preceding accounts and all the other accounts that transacted with it would reveal its all round true connections.
Corporate business scams, misappropriation of public funds, illegal money transfer, developmental project money embezzlement, poverty scheme money swindling , buying of the bureaucracy, police, judiciary, politician for money, none can escape from this constantly vigilant electronic money transaction scanning digital technology. It is not possible for me to list out all those economic crimes that it can prevent, in this document. However, let me mention a most evasive problem of smear campaign about corruption that the public does not have the concrete means to know whether they are TRUE or FALSE. However now this MEMT economic system can mostly dissuade the unscrupulous people of making malicious FALSE ACCUSATIONS OR ALLEGATIONS OF ECONOMIC CRIME, CORRUPTIONS.
Finally, most property crimes, murders, sex crimes even the violent retaliations protests would get significantly reduced as the root cause of  most of it lies in the economic corruption that gives rise to social injustices due to the surreptitious money transactions, which is mostly impossible to prevent in the traditional cash money transaction economic system.
Poverty Eradication Achievable Within Few Years:

Poverty eradication would become a  definitely possible and achievable goal under this MEMT system within a few years. First of all as I mentioned it before, the prime responsibility  of the SSN is to provide the basic social security, employment, the minimum income guaranty, basic food, shelter, education health for all people and it would have enough money to do it.  Just imagine its great benefits to the society when almost all tax revenues gets collected by the prevention of all the tax fraud alone! It could provide more than enough money for poverty eradication.The SSN system with it biometric ID, would mostly prevent the welfare aid money corruption in the name of poor.  Moreover when the basic ground of all those economic crimes corruptions gets removed, most of the money that used to drained into that channel, now redirected into the legal economy and into the social welfare programs, which in turn cannot be misused under MEMT economic system.
Legal Businesses Nothing To Fear:

People who conduct all their business legally have nothing to fear from this MEMT economic system. In fact, they would rather benefit from it greatly, because it would create a very good environment to conduct legal businesses, in the absent of the corrupt business practices (tax fraud, bribe, etc.) as they are the worst enemy of the legitimate businesses. Most important of all is that there will be no restrictions  or limits on people in their legitimate money earnings, profit making or owning money or property of any huge amounts. One can be a billionaire or a trillionear, provided all their businesses money transaction remain transparent under, the electronic money and that information remains open to the democratic public, legal scrutiny. In fact the Government should encourage them by providing more business opportunities, privatization, commercialization of the services, lowering the taxes etc.
Only Unscrupulous People Will Get Terrified:

It is only the unscrupulous people who engage in the economic crimes, corruptions, illicit business, will get terrified of it because this mandatory electronic money transaction system leaves behind the electronic money trail as clear as day the light so they can no longer cover-up its tracks and conceal their crimes, so will be caught with its clear evident get duly prosecuted and sent to prison.
Both Are Interdependent For Each Others Success:

Of course this mandatory electronic money transaction economic system would be very difficult to introduce in its infant or initial stages. It also depends up on place to place and countries to countries. Nevertheless it is far more simpler and easier to implement effectively instead of those tens of thousands and legally cumbersome anti-corruption laws! The fundamental different between the two is that the former is a single technological solution based on almost fail-safe advanced technology while the latter are hundreds of years old legal solution so much fraught with numerous human error and complications. Surprisingly however now they both seems “interdependent” on each other for their success in the future!

Political Will To Get It Done

Hereby through the  news media I call upon all those individuals, groups, organizations, political parties who fight against corruption and those support its effort. The IT, economic, social, political, legal, medical, media professionals, scientist, activist of all fields, “right” and the “left” all those who are concerned about the corruption and its prevention. Particularly LAW MAKERS especially from India as well all over the world to have a discerning look into this document and the overall feasibility of a mandatory electronic money transaction economic system to root-out corruption.
Through this document I appeal  to you as a Hon. Lok Sabha member, along with the others to have a discerning look into this document, and if possible to bring it before the floor of the House for  disscussion into this matter.
Now To begin with, here I propose to the Government to make it obligatory for the employers to make the labour, salary payment over a give amount, to their employees by the electronic or the digital money transfer also to the buyers making purchases higher than a given sum to follow this line. Brining in some sort of basic SSN system to help the poor.Implementation of compulsory biometric ID in all bank account is a most important step in this matter. More sensitive however is to gradually phase out the currencies of higher denomination. These are the concrete steps forward, toward this MEMT direction.
In this, first of all the financial institutions, trusts, banks combined with the IT sector, institutions, companies have to take the pivotal role in building up this system, its infrastructure and they will have the enormous potential for growth and a great social responsibility as well to encourage people to lean more and more towards the MENT economic system.
It would not interfere with peoples private or personal life. There are already more stringent legislations in place that rules, laws that the citizens made to obey as they are legally obliged to submit all their property, money transactions, true accounts  before the public  or the legal authorities and not to engage in the economic crimes. Today there exist this innovative electronic credit card money transaction technology to make it happen. It is now for all the people to see to it that this innovative IT develops to its fullest productive potential that includes its  deployment in the prevention of almost all economic  crimes, corruptions.  What is really needed is the political will to get it done.

A Socialist Revolution Without Abolition of PRIVATE PROPERTY:

Abolition of cash (paper) money and making all money transaction in electronic would bring in a more “just” economic system , a new kind of a Socialist Revolution without the abolition of Private Property.

Valerian Texeira can be contacted at
St. Joseph Nagar, Jeppu
Mangalore –575002
INDIA.

Comments

Add New

Write comment
Name:
Email:	We don't publish your mail. See privacy policy.
Title:
	Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.