CBDCs enable all sorts of horrible, totalitarian things.

They allow governments to track and control every penny you earn, save, and spend. They are a powerful tool for politicians to confiscate and redistribute wealth as they see fit.

CBDCs will allow central banks to impose deeply negative interest rates, which are just a euphemism for a tax on saving money.

Governments could program CBDCs to have an expiration date—like some airline frequent flyer miles—forcing people to spend them, for example, before the end of the month when they'd become worthless.

CBDCs will enable devious social engineering by allowing governments to punish and reward people in ways they previously couldn't.

Suppose governments impose lockdowns again for flu season, so-called "climate change," or whatever pretext they find convenient. CBDCs could be programmed to work only in a geographic area, and the government could deny your payments if you travel more than a mile from your home during a lockdown.

Suppose the people in charge want to encourage people to take a pharmaceutical product or some other poison. With CBDCs, they could deposit money into the accounts of those who complied and deduct it from those who didn't.