Cash or Digital Money, Personal Freedom or Globalism

Canada Free Press ^ | 03/29/16 | Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh

[Snark]

Thumbs up to that!

[sparklite2]

For a few days? No. For a few hours, yes.

[B4Ranch]

I have never had difficulty buying anything with cash during a extended power outage. As long as I had anywhere close to the correct amount of cash, the sale was completed.

[Snark]

I was in a state that had a major ice storm. The government sent electric companies to help with the repairs from all over the United States. Areas were down for over two weeks and yet I had no cash nor any problem whatsoever purchasing, gas, food, and other products. As long as there way power, by way of generator for example, they took credit or debit cards. They batched the information and sent it when they could.
If there was no power and they were not on a generator, they simply were not open.

I guess I’ll eat my words when they drop the nuke on us and the emp kills all electronics.

[Fred911]

Exactly what places without stable currencies are we seeing “digital currencies traded for goods and much more”?

OH, what happens to this digital currency, when the grid goes poof?

People I know who sell their digital currency for cash.....a fantastic scam. Money for nothing and chicks for free :)

[Stat Man]

Well, in much of Africa, phone minutes have become a de facto digital currency. Zimbabwe is perhaps the best example of where the government instability and weakness of native currency is a major factor in this. http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21569744-use-pre-paid-mobile-phone-minutes-currency-airtime-money/

In addition, all over the world, bitcoin is becoming a popular choice for cross-border transactions. It's typically far cheaper, more transparent and just as convenient as traditional wire transfers.

Some digital currency can be removed from the grid. It's about private codes, which is why those types of currency are also called crypto-currency. So you can, and most people who have a lot, do, print your codes onto paper, store them somewhere such as a safe deposit box, and poof, you're off the grid.

In the case of something like an EMP that brings down the grid for some time, who knows? My assumption is that it's more like the power going out... you're out of luck for a while, but when it's turned back on, most of your data is still there somewhere.

But in the case of an EMP than brings down the grid, you've frankly got a lot more severe problems than whether or not your retirement savings have been lost.

[P.O.E.]

How would druggies make change?

[Fred911]

Phone minutes....ok?

I’m on a small island right now. The internet is sketchy at best, Wireless is even worse. (perhaps not unlike many 3rd world countries)......could get kinda tough to do daily purchase transactions with bitcoin? Probably a good way to lose weight.

To be clear, I am not a fan of any fiat currency. No fiat currency has ever survived in holding value. I suspect that digital currency will provide a wealth of opportunity for screwing the proles out of their meager savings.

I think a total economic/currency collapse is far more likely than an EMP attack. The shit storm will be very painful for many. Frankly, I don’t have a retirement savings account.

I believe hard assets: AU, AG, PB and tillable soil

I guess time will tell.

[Stat Man]

"I think a total economic/currency collapse is far more likely than an EMP attack."

Ironically, the creators of bitcoin probably agree with you. Skepticism with corruptly managed currencies was a driving factor in the invention of cryptocurrencies. Seems to me that unless the internet goes down with the economy, digital currency will be the go-to solution if/when the established economy collapses.

"To be clear, I am not a fan of any fiat currency. No fiat currency has ever survived in holding value.

Well, the U.S. Dollar has been off the gold standard for a darn long time, and while I remain skeptical for its future, you have to admit the US economy has been the healthiest in the world during those decades.

Bitcoin was created in response to the corrupt management of currencies. But despite some of its strengths, its biggest weakness is that it is not managed at all. I believe the next big step in the evolution of currencies will be a digital currency that is managed transparently by publicly open economic equations.

While technology improvements may be needed in places like your island, in most of the world, peoples' phones will be their wallets. Whether this is a good or bad thing, it seems inevitable to me.