The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect the views of the United States military, the Department of Defense, or the United States government.
I’ve been around soldiers for almost a decade. Bitcoin seems like a natural fit for the American service member, and yet so few can overcome their skepticism and choose to invest. My hope for this article is that it can work its way through the ranks of all services to help our servicemen and servicewomen improve their lives and provide a brighter future for their families.
Bitcoin will substantially improve your life in multiple ways: it will act as a defense for your freedom while serving to defend that of others; this will serve as a defense to your purchasing power, as there is virtually no way military pay can keep up with inflation. Finally, it will provide you with an economic opportunity that you probably never had, as it is one of the main factors that drives people to join the military in the first place.
I was one of the lucky few. I worked hard in high school and was lucky enough to stumble upon West Point, attending four-year college for free in exchange for years of service. I found bitcoin through a series of unusual events that led me to start buying in earnest just before the COVID-19 crash of 2020. Again, through a bit of luck and serendipity, I ‘ve found my place in a graduate program with the army, allowing me to obtain two master’s degrees from a reputable university in less than 18 months. All paid for by the army. The military can sometimes be an incredible sacrifice, but it can also be an incredible opportunity for personal development and societal advancement.
Bitcoin is your icing on the cake if you play your cards right. This is your best opportunity to further improve one of your best opportunities.
In Defense of Freedom: Bitcoin as Ideology
“I solemnly swear that I will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…”
An interesting part of military life is the oath we take upon each re-enlistment or promotion; swear allegiance, not to an individual, not even to the government, but to a document created over 200 years ago. Much like the Constitution, Bitcoin itself is an idea, a set of rules establishing a set of guiding principles to uphold fairness and freedom equally for all participants.
The principles of Bitcoin, like those set forth in the Constitution and subsequent amendments, are fundamentally about freedom. Bitcoin was born out of the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis, seeking to preserve the freedom to store value and transact freely.
If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past two years falling down the Bitcoin rabbit hole, it’s that you really don’t own anything. Even if you pay off the mortgage or your car, what happens if you stop paying your taxes or don’t renew your registration? The government will seize your property. As evidenced by the recent Freedom Convoy protest in Canada, once the seemingly liberal Western democracies showed that they would freeze your bank and investment accounts, without hesitation, for supporting a political movement with which the ruling class does not does not agree.
At the same time, payment processors like Mastercard are developing carbon footprint tracking technology that they are integrating into their credit card interfaces to assess every transaction you make based on its carbon score. An option allows users to join a program that reduces your ability to spend once a carbon limit has been reached. This raises a number of questions in my mind, mainly: how long before features like this become not only standard, but mandatory to use their services?
Bitcoin fixes that.
Bitcoin is the first thing I actually own. I hold my own keys which makes it incredibly difficult for anyone to access my funds and essentially impossible to “freeze” my account. Additionally, Jack Mallers, CEO of bitcoin-focused company Strike, has partnered with some of the world’s largest point-of-sale device companies to enable bitcoin payments at stores in thousands of locations. places you probably use regularly. The freedom to transact and maintain your self-sovereignty just got a whole lot easier.
In defense of purchasing power: Bitcoin as the best way to save
The baseline for military salary increases comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index, essentially indexing the average cost of employment in the private sector to try to maintain the salary increase military in conjunction with the private sector. The problem here is twofold. First, the data lags behind and is about two years behind by the time the wage increase is enacted. This is largely due to the legislative process. The second problem with this method is that private sector wages have not kept pace with inflation, so using it as a benchmark always means costs are rising faster than your wages. An expected salary increase of 4.7% for 2023 is a good thing, but in the face of inflation of 8.5% from March 2022, you actually take a salary reduction of 3.8%.
With growing deficits and public debt, I see no mathematical way military pay can keep up with inflation, let alone politically, as the government will likely come under pressure to limit spending to help fight against inflation. measures.
To add insult to injury, even if inflation returns to that 2% annual level the Federal Reserve so desperately wants, the lower rate is compounded by a higher price base, still leaving you behind as prices increase steadily over time.
Bitcoin fixes that.
As a digital bearer asset with absolute scarcity, your share of the monetary network cannot be diluted with printing money if you own bitcoin. Over time, your wealth and purchasing power can continue to grow, and given enough time in the market, bitcoin should significantly outpace inflation as adoption continues. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme, but rather a better way to save. As little as 1% of your salary per month in a bitcoin stipend could have a significant effect on your financial situation. There are also tons of ways to automate this process so you don’t even have to think about it. One technique I currently use is a savings allowance that I set up directly in MyPay that buys bitcoins for me every month in the “pay me in bitcoin” feature of the Strike app.
While short-term price action can seem volatile and scary, if you zoom out and focus on the long term, your monthly, weekly, or daily bitcoin bites will pay off over the years. , thus creating a pay raise for yourself, allowing you to continue your service without sacrificing purchasing power.
In Defense of Stability: Bitcoin as a Generational Equalizer
As prominent Bitcoiner Greg Foss likes to point out, central banks will never stop printing money because it is a mathematical impossibility to service the current federal debt. What this means for normal people like us is perpetual asset price inflation, as new dollars entering circulation drive up the prices of those assets first. This phenomenon is known as the Cantillon effect and is one of the main drivers of economic inequality.
Every dollar printed not only devalues your hard-earned savings, but at the same time makes it harder to move forward with investing. Your dollars buy fewer shares with each contribution to the Thrift Savings Plan. It’s getting harder and harder to buy a home, as inflation drives prices up much faster than other sectors of the economy – and certainly faster than your paycheck can go up. How are you supposed to land on your feet when you get out of the military if the foundations of your financial house are built on an ever-eroding bed of sand?
Bitcoin fixes that.
As one of the last free markets that exist in the world, and with absolute scarcity, it opens up the possibility of asymmetric returns to you. Since stock markets are highly correlated to the Fed’s money printing rate, I see investing in stocks as a long and bumpy ride to the status quo: you may end up with more dollars in absolute terms, but you are not necessarily better off in terms of purchasing power.
Many soldiers I have met joined the military to escape a life of few opportunities, to pay for their education or to improve their lives. I originally joined because I saw no way to pay for my education without massive and crushing debt that I would have to carry for years, if not decades. With inflation and the stock market rising at the same rate as the rate of money printing, I no longer have confidence that traditional markets will get me where I want to be.
By redirecting my investment and saving flows to bitcoin, I was able to really build a strong economic foundation that allows me to worry less about money and enjoy my life more. I am more present with my family and a more attentive father to my children. Moreover, the asymmetric returns over time should greatly exceed all other investments. With the growing evolution of secured loans, you don’t even have to necessarily sell your bitcoin to benefit from it. I recently funded a kitchen renovation using a loan from BlockFi, secured by my bitcoin stack. The possibilities are limitless.
I consider this opportunity to be one of the best in my life to truly build generational wealth, leave something for my children when I die, and ensure that they can live a better life than mine. Bitcoin gives me hope for the future because of this.
In Defense of Hope: Bitcoin as a Better Future
Bitcoin has fundamentally changed the way I see the world. Every purchase is scrutinized, and yet I feel more financially secure than I have ever felt in my entire life. The path I have chosen to follow has given me optimism for a better future with my family. My hope for you is that you seize your opportunities in the military and make the most of them, while simultaneously seizing your opportunity for financial stability and generational wealth. Change your present so you can change your future. Fix the money, fix the world.
This is a guest post by Mickey Koss. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.