Milei Roasts the WEF, Trump Bashes CBDCs

Milei Roasts World Economic Forum

Argentina's President, Javier Milei, has just delivered a crushing address at the World Economic Forum, cautioning against the growing influence of collectivist ideologies in the Western world. Milei, the recently elected economist, warned that a shift toward socialism could result in widespread poverty. He used Argentina's economic struggles over the past century as a clear example.

In his speech, Milei advocated for free market capitalism as the solution to foster global economic prosperity. He emphasized that capitalism has propelled the modern world to unprecedented levels of freedom, wealth, peace, and prosperity. According to Milei, countries that respect economic freedom and individual property rights are considerably wealthier, with significantly fewer people living in poverty.

Milei highlighted Libertarian ideals as the bedrock of free market capitalism. He emphasized the importance of private property, free markets, competition, division of labour, and social cooperation. According to Milei, successful entrepreneurs in a capitalist system are societal benefactors contributing to overall well-being.

The Argentine president acknowledged the increasing voices among world leaders opposing the shift toward socialist ideologies that suppress individual liberties. He urged the importance of confronting these ideas head-on to prevent further expansion of state control, regulations, and socialism, which ultimately lead to increased poverty and reduced freedom.

Milei acknowledged potential scepticism about the assertion that the West has embraced socialism but argued that contemporary governments wield various tools, such as monetary issuance and regulations, to exert control over citizens' lives without directly controlling production. He stressed that policies hindering free markets, competition, and private property inevitably lead to poverty.

Elon Musk posted a link to Milei’s speech in support of the leader. He has been a consistent critic of the WEF. Musk also used his AI, “Grok”, to roast Klaus Schwab.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Attacks CBDCs

Former President Donald Trump has declared his total opposition to the creation of CBDCs. As he currently leads polls for the Republican nomination, he expressed concerns that a CBDC would grant the federal government absolute control over people’s money, which could lead to abuse. He pledged to safeguard Americans from this threat to freedom and prevent the introduction of a CBDC from ever happening in the United States.

Trump's stance aligns with other Republican figures who have criticized CBDCs on the campaign trail. Last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis promised to reject central bank digital currencies if elected. Vivek Ramaswamy, who just dropped out of the race, had a similar campaign promise which proved to be popular. He endorsed Trump strongly after leaving the competition.

Trump and other Republicans have been critical of CBDCs. The current administration acknowledges the urgency of researching CBDCs, especially in response to China's successful pilot digital yuan CBDC project, boasting over 250 million users and integration with banks beyond mainland China. But the major retort to this supposed urgency is: Does the West benefit by becoming more like the CCP?

Last March, Texas Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill to halt CBDCs. He noted concerns about financial surveillance and emphasised that the federal government lacked the authority to create a CBDC in the first place.