Miami Is Considering Paying Its City Employees In Bitcoin (forbes.com) 102
The city of Miami is considering giving its employees the opportunity to get their salaries paid in bitcoin. It's all part of a plan to bring more tech entrepreneurs to Miami.
In addition to the bitcoin salaries, the city is also considering allowing local fees and taxes to be paid in bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency. The city's treasury may also place some of its investment capital into bitcoin, which would be a first for major cities in the U.S. Forbes reports: While in exact percentage or absolute terms, [Miami's mayor, Mayor Francis Suarez] hasn't got an exact figure for how much investment he wants to place -- yet he knows he wants to structure it in a public-private partnership where private partners can take some of the reward for defraying risk from the public side. An hypothetical example with arbitrary numbers: the city would invest about $250,000 in public funds into a fund that would be supplemented with $750,000 in private bitcoin from three large investors. The private investors would get the first funds out to guarantee their return, while the city would benefit from anything left.
He's also keeping an eye out on the bitcoin ecosystem and events, having spoken at a bitcoin event a couple of years ago, and looking to bring the Bitcoin 2021 Conference to Miami. Finally, the mayor is considering financing his reelection campaign in bitcoin, joining a small selection of politicians who have raised funds in bitcoin. Combined with his social media presence, the efforts could bear fruit that helps solidify his tech-friendly persona, as well as the treasury for his next re-election.
In addition to the bitcoin salaries, the city is also considering allowing local fees and taxes to be paid in bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency. The city's treasury may also place some of its investment capital into bitcoin, which would be a first for major cities in the U.S. Forbes reports: While in exact percentage or absolute terms, [Miami's mayor, Mayor Francis Suarez] hasn't got an exact figure for how much investment he wants to place -- yet he knows he wants to structure it in a public-private partnership where private partners can take some of the reward for defraying risk from the public side. An hypothetical example with arbitrary numbers: the city would invest about $250,000 in public funds into a fund that would be supplemented with $750,000 in private bitcoin from three large investors. The private investors would get the first funds out to guarantee their return, while the city would benefit from anything left.
He's also keeping an eye out on the bitcoin ecosystem and events, having spoken at a bitcoin event a couple of years ago, and looking to bring the Bitcoin 2021 Conference to Miami. Finally, the mayor is considering financing his reelection campaign in bitcoin, joining a small selection of politicians who have raised funds in bitcoin. Combined with his social media presence, the efforts could bear fruit that helps solidify his tech-friendly persona, as well as the treasury for his next re-election.
Translation (Score:5, Insightful)
In my opinion this translates to Suarez own a lot of bitcoin and wants to see its value rise. Mind you I agree with transitioning over to cryptocurrency (though Ethereum or Stellar Lumens seem like the better choice).
Re: (Score:3)
Next rung of the ladder down to crazytown is, pay all employees in Gamestop shares..
Translation (Score:2)
Crazier than a stock-sharing plan some companies have.
Re:Translation (Score:4, Insightful)
If you want to make your city a tech center, the best way to do it is to fund a large world-class research university with a generous admission policy for international students.
Re: (Score:2)
ETH is not a currency, and never should be used as such. It's time on a global computer; nothing more, nothing less.
It really doesn't make a lot of sense for one ETH token to be worth that much, especially when there's so little you can do with the Ethereum network right now, though it's still an interesting project.
Re: (Score:1)
ETH is a simple affinity scam. ETH is not decentralized, this means ETH is fragile without any long-term potential.
ETH should be renamed the Vitalik's database monopoly money.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh goody now we have two useless Bitcoin maximalists. Unless you're one of btcwarrior's sockpuppets.
Re: (Score:2)
AFAIK a single cartel holds (or at least held for a time) >50% of computing power in BTC, meaning it would be compromised.
I'd laugh so much if one scandal after another bring down all the big boys and $DOGE dominates the world.
Re: (Score:2)
That was probably BCH you're thinking of. But it's not worth arguing with that guy. He's probably btcwarrior posting anonymously. He's a Bitcoin maximalist and shill, presumably trying to pump his own investments.
Re: (Score:2)
Screw off AC Bitcoin maximalist. btcwarrior? Whoever. You're getting to be worse than he-who-posts-affiliate-links.
That, or thinks city employees are tech entreprene (Score:4, Insightful)
TFS says it's "a plan to bring more tech entrepreneurs to Miami."
If you come to Miami and get a city government job, you can be paid in Bitcoin. To attract tech entrepreneurs.
Either these local politicos think that tech entrepreneurs are going to be be working for the city as meter maids, or they aren't being upfront about their actual intentions.
It's possible they are being totally honest, that they think that'll actually work. In which case they are just as incompetent as most Republicans believe politicians are.
Re: (Score:2)
Dude, cryptocurrency is cool. Tech bros like cool stuff. It's got to work.
Actually, it might. Tech bros are kind of stupid. I suspect Miami may get more than it wished for.
Re: (Score:2)
Florida, is already crazytown central.
Tapping that shadow economy (Score:2)
"Tech entrepreneurs" means bot herders, right?
Re: Tapping that shadow economy (Score:1)
Anti-tech (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Anyone who is not illiterate in the engineering domain understands Bitcoin which is a fascinating invention.
Blockchain is interesting, Bitcoin is just a high risk speculative implementation of it.
Re: Anti-tech (Score:1)
May as well offer to pay in lottery tickets (Score:5, Insightful)
Here's a wake-up call for y'all: if there was no such thing anymore as 'cash', then nothing you buy, right down to a candybar, is ever your private business. Same goes for 'cryptocurrency'. All digital forms of payment will inevitably be tracked by governments. Is that what you want? Not me.
Re: (Score:2)
All digital forms of payment will inevitably be tracked by governments. Is that what you want? Not me.
Credit Card. Definitely avoid. Checks? Traceable. Cash? Serial Numbers.
Re: (Score:2)
Cash? Serial numbers
Here's my response to that, just for you: https://youtu.be/uqUa_G1h3pw [youtu.be]
Re: (Score:2)
And if you have trouble believing that, how about what your printer [wikipedia.org] can tell people about you?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Absolutely. It's not like the NSA was collecting every phone call and all Internet data or anything. That's unpossible!
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Dude. Your argument "All digital forms of payment will inevitably be tracked by governments. Is that what you want?"
The other guy replies with clear examples how non-digital payments are already tracked.
And now you go about meds. Is your argument that the digital payment will be tracked better? Or that it isn't tracked? Or is tracking it somehow more impactful than tracking of non-digital payments? Or maybe the other guy actually does need to take meds, but so do you?
Re: (Score:2)
They want them in non-sequential numbers because they're going to have to dispose of them in large chunks. Anti-fraud/anti-laundering regulations require checks on such large transactions. Day-to-day usage is not and cannot be so easily tracked. Don't be so paranoid.
Re: (Score:3)
You know why we know the money that was given to Dan Cooper (usually mistaken as DB Cooper) was never found except for a small amount? Even back then there were banks that kept ransom stock.
Non-sequential bills that were all logged in serial numbers. This can be arranged in minutes - there is a lot of reserve currency around sitting in banks for this purpose. They just gather it together , and note the serial number
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Has that been peered reviewed. the block chain of bitcoin is specifically designed not to be anonymous, so it's all accountable and traceable if spent on just about all transaction systems. Black market system work because the supplier converts the BC to cash at some point breaking the audit chain or moving the BC outside of the USA to a cash exchange point. but to be anonymous in the USA should be impossible on all legit transactions using BC
Re: (Score:2)
When you open a channel, that transaction hits the blockchain, but after that channel open has been confirmed, then channel functions as an entrypoint into the network and from there payments can be routed as long as a link with sufficient capacity exists. It's still in the build-up period
Re: (Score:2)
Build-up period? How long is that going to last? LN has been around for years. It is an . . . inelegant solution.
Re: (Score:2)
>> inelegant solution.
Still a solution to a problem.
Yes I can use a can to hammer in a nail, inelegant, yet it works.
I am going to guess that the reason a better solution has not been present is because the profit potential is not there yet
Re: (Score:2)
LN no more anonymizes transactions than the base Bitcoin blockchain anonymizes transactions.
Re: (Score:2)
You are wrong on every level. Do you think your local bank has enough cash on hand to cover everyone’s account balances? All data the same as bitcoin. Guess you’ve also never heard of privacy coins like Monero. In reality nobody gives a shit what you buy.
Re: (Score:2)
XMR is the crypto of choice for black market trading. There's a reason why malware miners all mine XMR. Irrelevant? No.
Re: (Score:2)
The only ones laughing are the malware distributors mining XMR on someone else's machine.
Re: (Score:3)
Oh and by the way IDGAF how much actual cash there is -- so long as there's enough for *me*. Because I'm not some dumb cuck who uses plastic like a moron, has my bank account exposed every time I do, and has every goddamned thing I buy tracked and logged by someone, somewhere. You're free to keep living that way if you want to, but I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and have LESS exposure an
Re: (Score:2)
Who do you think is looking over your bank statements to see where your money is spent? Nobody cares.
Re: (Score:2)
Does that mean the information enables them to beam mind-rays into your brain and control you like a robot, no.
Re:Sound money Fiat currency (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
All digital forms of payment will inevitably be tracked by governments.
This is false. There are ways to make payments anonymous. Cryptographically safe ways. And (at least bitcoin) development is heading that way.
This is just to get in the news (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
That's probably true. However, most of these kinds of deals involve taking a percentage of one's salary in crypto. That's not a bad idea. I might go for depositing a few hundred per month in a crypto 'savings account' as a convenient method to save (dollar cost average). If I'd been doing that the last few years for anything longer than a few months I'd definitely would've made a profit.
Re: (Score:2)
There's a friendly dcabtc.com site that calculates it for you with the benefit of hindsight, sample result:
Wow! Buying $400 of Bitcoin every month for 3 years starting 3 years ago would have turned $14,400 into $61,535 (+327%).
Not too bad... (now make it 6 years)
Im sorry (Score:3)
I feel sorry for any government employee that gets paid in Bitcoin. You did the work for the government and you deserve to be paid in a way the government will stand behind. You do not want HR to shrug when your paycheck is suddenly worth half as much as last time and you can't pay your rent/mortgage now.
Why does the Mayor of Miami hate our national currency so much? Why replace our currency with something that wastes huge amounts of resources? Is the Mayor going to cover employees fees to convert Bitcoin into dollars so they can actually pay their bills?
He must think 'tech entrepreneurs' are stupid.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
More like getting paid in beanie babies or baseball cards. The stale gum is yours to keep.
Re: (Score:1)
Fiat currencies are the beanie babies, and Gold is obsolete and defeated: Executive Order 6102...
As Voltaire famously said, 'Fiat currency always eventually returns to its intrinsic value -- zero.'
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I feel sorry for any government employee that gets paid in Bitcoin. You did the work for the government and you deserve to be paid in a way the government will stand behind. You do not want HR to shrug when your paycheck is suddenly worth half as much as last time and you can't pay your rent/mortgage now.
Well, look on the bright side. You'll be able to join hedge fund brokers in the half-as-much carpool. And let's stop pretending the USD isn't artificially inflated and kept that way with massive printing presses running at QE speed. The US stock market isn't exactly some golden standard of sensible financial reality either, particularly right now. Don't even get me started on the corrupt banking system that brought the country to it's financial knees last time. Greed N. Corruption still runs that show,
Good idea (Score:3)
Bankrupt the city before the ocean comes to drown everyone.
Makes Kickbacks Easier to Conceal (Score:1)
Government (Score:1)
Are they crazy? (Score:2)
Are they broke? (Score:2)
Pension funds.
Re: (Score:1)
You are already getting your paycheck with something inflated ad nauseam, with the USD or EUR. Why do you want to pay someone with real money?
Some other steps to take first (Score:1)
Florida sent first btc user to jail (Score:1)
Payment is worthless, taxes and fines however... (Score:2)
Yeah, I'd be willing to pay anyone in junk too. I can pay in seashells, if anyone is foolish enough to agree.
It's the willingness to ACCEPT them as payment for taxes, fees, and fines that is important.
That signifies you consider them to be of lasting value, rather than junk you want to get rid of.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm also fairly confident that the city of Miami has enough employees that if they used Bitcoin for the whole payroll the Bitcoin network would fail to complete transactions.
It doesn't scale worth shit.
Anonymous donations the real reason for bitcoin? (Score:1)
Finally, the mayor is considering financing his reelection campaign in bitcoin
Make much more sense now trying to generalize the use of Bitcoin..
24 Carat Gold Coins (Score:2)
Would have been great 2 years ago (Score:2)
"Florida man... (Score:2)
Bi-weekly lottery (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
It would be better that we stopped using it to represent value all together, freeing up reserves for more practical applications, like radiation shielding and electronics.
That doesn't sound Constitutional. (Score:2)
Even if there's a way around the fact that cities are prohibited from coining their own money, I hardly think they should be compensating employees with volatile commodities or securities instead of legal tender. You'd hardly get away with paying public emplo
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
But think about this - you absolutely cannot pay your local, State or Federal taxes in anything other than US dollars. If a city tries to pay you in bitcoin, how are they going to calculate the withholding? FICA? Medicare? They can't. Hell, since y
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Even if ithat is legal, it adds another layer of complexity to paying city employees, and worse, another opportunity for graft. (Other posters have suggested the opportunity for graft is the whole point of paying in Bitcoin.)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I also may be wrong for feeding trolls.
Re: (Score:2)
Welcome. Hope you enjoy your first day here!
Re: (Score:2)
And it's Gone (Score:1)
So, buy bitcoin low (Score:2)
and pay the employees when it goes up. If it goes down the next day, tough luck, employees.
Not forced (Score:1)
Why not just get paid in lottery tickets? (Score:1)
Risking taxpayer dollars (Score:1)