Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Sunday that blockchain technology could play a key role in making government more transparent, calling for a Web3 overhaul of the federal budget.
“I will devote the entire American budget [the] blockchain, so that […] every American can view every budget line item in its entirety at any time, 24 hours a day,” he said at a rally in Michigan, according to The hill.
Facilitating daily payments on a public ledger could hold those in power more accountable, Kennedy suggested in a statement. video shared on Twitter. In theory, anyone would be able to see how government spending is happening through what would likely amount to thousands and thousands of transactions recorded each day.
“We’re going to have 300 million eyes on our budget, and if someone spends $16,000 on a toilet seat, everyone will know,” Kennedy said, referring to a hubbub 2018 on the Pentagon’s purchasing habits.
Kennedy’s latest comments continue his ongoing campaign to promote cryptocurrency technology as a way to improve the country’s economy. Last July, for example, the candidate for the White House proposed support the US dollar with Bitcoin reserves.
Kennedy’s admiration for Bitcoin was a central part of his campaign platform. He was a keynote speaker at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami and most recently appeared at ETHDenver, an annual Ethereum conference.
Although a blockchain could give citizens more power when it comes to government surveillance, that same transparency could be used as a weapon against them, Kennedy acknowledged. Wary of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), the candidate described the technology as a slippery slope towards financial surveillance in the United States
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.