How long will it be before Americans are, let's say, discouraged from taking or sending their capital abroad, perhaps even getting into exchange controls?

Is the issue entirely one of homeland security? I'm not so sure. But, for sure, Big Brother is encroaching.

Sending mail or Fedex packages from Canada to any destination nearby the U.S. is no pleasure these days as the packages are opened and examined by U.S. authorities.

And, businesspersons flying through the U.S. enroute to foreign destinations are not too happy having to open cameras and computers, and remove belts and shoes at U.S. air terminal x-ray stations, I can assure you.

In fact, in my travel last week, I was surprised at the attitude of the "gatekeepers". Afraid to say a word for fear I would be ordered behind a privacy screen or taken to a room to be physically searched, let's say more intrusively, I smiled politely with lips sealed. Expletives secreted.

For now, life is such that air travellers will need to bring along a plastic shoehorn. And we call this a "sophisticated" society?

As I see it, not every American is happy with this U.S. Travel ID Initiative either. There seems to be an awful lot of USD departing the country these days. Could it be that the owners of capital are taking steps to keep theirs free?

If so, that's bound to have an impact on domestic inflation and higher interest rates in the U.S.

And that will happen if America, in the guise of self-protection, chooses to isolate itself with programs like high import duties (e.g., as threatened on Chinese goods), and programs like this travel ID initiative.

Just an observation of the bigger picture that seems to be taking shape.