Ban the Dollar!
Congressman points out silliness of Sen. Manchin's complaints about bitcoins
Left libertarianish Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) has resorted to satire in defense of Bitcoin. In response to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) sending a letter to Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen and other officials calling on them to ban bitcoins because it can be used for illegal transactions, Polis sent a letter seeking to ban dollars. He notes:
By way of background, a physical dollar bill is a printed version of a dollar note issued by the Federal Reserve and backed by the ephemeral "full faith and credit" of the United States. Dollar bills have gained notoriety in relation to illegal transactions; suitcases full of dollars used for illegal transactions were recently featured in popular movies such as American Hustle and Dallas Buyers Club, as well as the gangster classic, Scarface, among others. Dollar bills are present in nearly all major drug busts in the United States and many abroad. According to the U.S. Department of Justice study, "Crime in the United States," more than $1 billion in cash was stolen in 2012, of which less than 3% was recovered. The United States' Dollar was present by the truck load in Saddam Hussein's compound, by the carload when Noriega was arrested for drug trafficking, and by the suitcase full in the Watergate case.
Unlike digital currencies, which are carbon neutral allowing us to breathe cleaner air, each dollar bill is manufactured from virgin materials like cotton and linen, which go through extensive treatment and processing. Last year, the Federal Reserve had to destroy $3 billion worth of $100 bills after a "printing error." Certainly this cannot be the greenest currency.
Printed pieces of paper can fit in a person's pocket and can be given to another person without any government oversight. Dollar bills are not only a store of value but also a method for transferring that value. This also means that dollar bills allow for anonymous and irreversible transactions.
This sarcastic response is familiar ground for any bitcoin supporter, but it's interesting coming from the pen of a congressman.
As for Yellen, she's already said the Federal Reserve has no authority to regulate bitcoins.