(Kitco News) – United States presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. wants to bring the transparency of blockchain to the U.S. budget, telling a crowd of his supporters at a rally in Michigan on Sunday that doing so would allow every American to look at “every budget item anytime they want, 24 hours a day.”
“We’re gonna have 300 million eyeballs on our budget, and if somebody is spending $16,000 for a toilet seat, everybody’s gonna know about it,” Kennedy said during his campaign speech.
RFK Jr. at Michigan rally: “I’m gonna put the entire US budget on blockchain”
“Every American can look at every budget item in the entire budget, anytime they want, 24 hours a day.”
“We’re gonna have 300 million eyeballs on our budget, and if somebody is spending $16,000 for a… pic.twitter.com/aqJ1JNUpxc— Holden Culotta (@Holden_Culotta) April 22, 2024
According to the presidential hopeful, putting the budget on a public blockchain would allow for more transparency and accountability, giving taxpayers the ability to closely monitor where their tax dollars are spent.
The idea of widespread citizen engagement and oversight has caught the attention of many, and unsurprisingly, the proposal has sparked divided opinions. Supporters applauded the move, saying it’s a significant step towards authentic transparency.
“Transparent public accounting might be the best use case for blockchain tech besides supply chain,” another X user wrote. “Checks and balances in our government doesn't work if the branches are in on the corruption together (president and congress particularly) it's time the people hold them accountable.”
Critics, on the other hand, raised concerns about the practicality of implementing blockchain technology on such a grand scale as it has been known to suffer notable limitations when managing complex real-world data.
Others called on taking the idea a step further by using blockchain to do real-time voting.
Kennedy, who is running as an independent candidate, has been a strong advocate for Bitcoin and blockchain for several years and has personally endorsed the top crypto and the ability of blockchain to decentralize the financial system and provide individuals with a form of money that is free from the manipulation of central banks.
He was also the first presidential candidate to accept Bitcoin for campaign donations and said he would explore the idea of backing the U.S. dollar with Bitcoin if elected president.
His unabashed support for the industry has earned him support from prominent figures in the crypto community, prompting many aspiring politicians to follow suit.
