IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde discusses crypto In February 2014 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde appeared on Q&A to answer 1 hour of questions from the public. Q&A is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) highest-rating program. Ms Lagarde is one of the most important figures in the old, centralized, money-as-debt system we are disrupting.
Crypto question
One great question on crypto referenced the lack of trust in the current system, advancements in technology and the growth of alternatives like Kickstarter and peer-to-peer lending that remove the middlemen.
In reply, Ms Lagarde wheeled out the all too predictable line that crypto is suspicious and she is concerned about money laundering. She let us know there needs to be a centralized government at the heart of everything for it to be valid, worthy and safe from evildoers.
Ms Lagarde had to make an effort to seem sincere with dramatic pauses and hand gestures as she knows big banks such as HSBC and cash are superior to crypto for money laundering. She did admit the current system was not perfect.
Statist overload
The other 57 minutes of the show was the usual type of ABC Q&A questions which boil down to
“Help us government you are the only ones who can fix problems, not us the people or me myself, we can’t do anything without you government. Even though you caused of most of the problems you will be the solution right?”
This is the government broadcaster. In this episode, topics included things like
- Quantitative easing
- Emerging markets
- Sustainability
- Economic growth
- China
- Equality
- Distribution of wealth
- Gender equity
The common thread in all the questions was that government intervention is the sole potential source of solutions. Ms Lagarde’s answers were predictably statist and narrow with formulaic Keynesian economic reasoning.
It has been said watching Q&A is not a viewing choice, it’s a civic duty! Past episodes have featured David Hicks questioning John Howard who was Prime Minister when Mr Hicks was held without charge in Guantanamo Bay. Another example was Julian Assange questioning Julia Gillard who was Prime Minister when the Australian government disowned him.
Q&A is not afraid to ask tough and controversial questions. Unfortunately, the host, Tony Jones and producers showed they have the same low knowledge about crypto and money as most mainstream media hacks do.
Before I discovered crypto I used to love shows like Q&A that challenged politicians to explain their solutions to problems. Crypto taught me how government works. This made me realize the government is the source of most problems and we the people have the solutions, not the government.
Luckily no Dogecoin fanatics were able to question Ms Lagarde!
Vlad Hategan
Author
In my career, I wrote for companies like Daily Coin or Crypto Banter while also writing social media content for a number of projects - including NFTs and tokens.
More by Vlad Hategan