The day the government announces they are seeking a cash-free society is the day the revolution should begin because make no mistake about it,a cash-free society is the death of individual freedoms and the beginning of a worldwide dictatorship.
Here are a few points to consider:
1: All financial aspects of your life,your debts and assets as well as your paycheck with be ENTIRELY under the control of a government that has the ability to bankrupt you instantly,seize all your assets instantly,and even prevent you from buying a gallon of gas for your car,a bus ticket,or even a cab to get to work. If you manage to walk,bicycle to work,or catch a ride with a co-worker,the company you work for won't be able to work you because with a single stroke on the "delete" key of a government keyboard,you have ceased to exist.
That's right,everybody will have a government ID number in order to debit and credit their financial accounts,and this number will be on a card that you will have to use for everything from buying a cup of coffee on the way to work in the morning to making your house payment or even selling your house. After all,how can you sell your house if there is no account to credit the sale to?
2: Used to making a little extra money on the weekends by doing stuff like painting houses for people? Forget it. It won't happen unless your and the homeowner buy permits from the government. The homeowner will have to buy a permit to have his house repainted and and painter is going to have to buy a permit to do the work. Otherwise the homeowner won't be able to get his house painted because the painter won't be able to buy the paint,and the painter won't get paid BECAUSE THERE WILL BE NO CASH TRANSACTIONS.
In FACT,the only move you will be able to make is to use the store phone (your cell will be shut down) to call the special 1-800 troublemaker/wanted criminal number so you can tell the police where to come to pick you up. You won't have any choice but to do this if you want to have a place to sleep and you want to keep on eating.
If you think you can get around this by bartering,think again. Nobody will be able to buy the paint or other materials without getting a permit that states who is going to perform the work. Falsifying this government document will be a crime.
You didn't REALLY think the government was going to leave loopholes like this open so people could avoid paying taxes,did you?
What makes this more dangerous than most government proposals to gain power over individuals is they will "sell it" to voters by telling half the truth. They will sell it as a way to end crime,and since almost all crime is a cash business,they will be telling the absolute truth. Neither Antwan on the corner selling crack to cars stopping by or any drug cartel will be applying for federal or state permits to sell illegal drugs,and without the permits there is no way to pay them.
I'm guessing most married guys won't be too eager to give our their ID number to pay for the services of a hooker,either. Wifey might not understand the need when she goes to check their joint account and sees where the money went.
Not to mention what divorce attorneys can do to both husband and wife when they supeona to look for ammunition to use in court.
3: So,you say "I'm fed up with a intrusive government and I'm not going to take it anymore!"? You decide you are going to organize a protest to march on DC to right this wrong. Guess what? You're not going to get there unless you walk because all the government would have to do to shut you OR ANY OTHER TROUBLEMAKERS DOWN is hit the delete key on your account number. Suddenly,you cease to exist. You can't even buy a gallon of gas or a cup of coffee and a donut at the local stop and rob because your number won't come up when they try to debit your account for the purchases.
You won't be able to organize a protest on the internet because your internet service will stop when your account ID number is deleted. Ditto for using the computers at the library. You won't exist so you can't check in at the library.
Your ONLY right will be the "right" to say "Yowsa,massa! May I have one more,massa?"
A cashless society is possible today because of the computing power and storage available today that allows instant access to records and instant completed transactions. This was never available to any of the dictators of the past,but it is available today.
I'm sure there are other negatives attached to a cashless society,but the death of individual freedoms should be enough to turn anyone but committed fascists away from such a system.
I haven't regularly carried cash in my wallet for nearly 10 years. It's just too damn inconvenient. There is little reason to do so.
Less 8% of money in country is cash. Everything else is electronic. It's been this way for a long time. There are two primary reasons why cash is still being used at all: A.) There are still a lot of old people who grew up with cash and are used to it, and B.) there is a growing number of unbanked in society, such as Mexicans who work under the table.
The government is already in control of money through the Federal Reserve. Do you think that when the Federal Reserve creates money that it prints it? NO, the Federal Reserve doesn't print money at all, it transfers money electronically between accounts. The U.S. Treasury prints money.
Eliminating the remaining 8% of money that is still cash won't do a damn thing to increase the government's already complete control over money.
There are electronic versions of cash available like pre-paid phone cards, Starbucks cards, gift cards, etc. whose usage is anonymous and untraceable. There have been several attempts at creating a generic anonymous and untraceable cash alternative using smart cards. But, smart cards would require a costly upgrade to the country's pervasive magnetic stripe infrastructure, so they never took off. Today, innovators are focused on using smart phones for payment -- including credit, debit, and cash alternatives.
Cash won't survive the next 10 years. It's just too inconvenient. Payments are going to be tied to your phone using near-field communications. Banks, grocery stores, gas stations, Google, Microsoft, and many others already have trials in progress with major roll outs planned for later this year and next.
Then we'll be able to get rid of our wallets completely. Yahoo!
Cash won't survive the next 10 years. It's just too inconvenient.
What is inconvenient about cash? You don't have to wait for an electronic devise to process the transaction, no codes to remember, if someone steals it, all you've lost is some cash.
What is inconvenient about cash? You don't have to wait for an electronic devise to process the transaction, no codes to remember, if someone steals it, all you've lost is some cash.
Not to mention all that inconvenience when the electricity goes out.
Not to mention all that inconvenience when the electricity goes out.
jwpegler says, " Then we'll be able to get rid of our wallets completely. Yahoo!"
What's this about needing a wallet to carry cash? A couple of c-notes in my bra and I'm good to go. A lot more comfortable than a plastic card, I imagine.
