This bill has just passed the US House of Representatives. Why is this important?

Today, we have Visa and Mastercard as our choice of digital payment. Some have floated crypto as an alternate, but crypto is complicated and not backed by an economy or central bank. Others have floated the idea of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that matches the availability of Mastercard and Visa, but do not go through their services. It could also be used offline with smart devices.

Some critics have cited concerns over privacy, where the central government could collect information, while others have pointed out that Visa and Mastercard collect that sort of data anyways, and CBDCs might log less data if designed differently.

The point may soon become moot if the bill passes the Senate and receive the president's signature

My take on this bill is that it's a ban that should not be put into place. CBDC can still be issued to banks though, just not for you and me. It keeps Credit card companies able to charge high merchant fees.

If I were to write a bill on CBDC, I would put in privacy restrictions into the bill, but still allow for individual CBDC to be issued.

> Why do so many evangelical Christians support former President Donald Trump despite his decades of documented ungodly behavior?

> An in-depth report from The Economist shows that it has a simple explanation: They believe that God personally appointed him to rule the United States.

> In fact, the report cites a survey conducted by Denison University political scientist Paul Djupe that around 30 percent of Americans believe Trump "was anointed by God to become president."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10115454

> About 700,000 adults between ages 26 and 49 will be eligible as of Jan. 1 > > California will welcome the new year by becoming the first state to offer health insurance for all undocumented immigrants. > > Starting Jan. 1, all undocumented immigrants, regardless of age, will qualify for Medi-Cal, California's version of the federal Medicaid program for people with low incomes. > > Previously, undocumented immigrants were not qualified to receive comprehensive health insurance but were allowed to receive emergency and pregnancy-related services under Medi-Cal as long as they met eligibility requirements, including income limits and California residency in 2014.

> A federal appeals court on Friday allowed a lawsuit brought by a group of U.S. Capitol Police officers against former President Donald Trump to move forward, ruling that Trump is not entitled to absolute immunity from civil lawsuits. The suit focuses on Trump's alleged conduct surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.