Posted on 01/25/2015 9:05:00 AM PST by Scooter100
The current rumblings about a "cashless" society are troubling. Currently, I like the anonymity of cash and I typically pay cash for all items under about $200....books, magazines, pharmacy, liquor store, groceries, tips, etc.
What will YOU miss if we lose our traditional currency? (I'll start the ball rolling...)
- How do I pay the neighbor's kid for mowing my lawn?
And I thought things were bad when nickel-copper alloys replaced silver in coinage.
lol I was at a Best Buy a couple of years ago to buy an iPad.
I was back at the ‘Apple Section’. When the useless salesman walked up and started his script, I just cut him off and said “I want this”. He gets it, and rings it up. I lay down 9 $100 Bills, and he looked at me like I had two heads. After a pause, he said: “I can’t accept that back here”. He asked if I had a credit card, and I asked him why on Earth would I want to pay $1,300 for it after interest, rather than $890. The remark went over his head, and he told me that I’d have to pay up front at a desk....
Another entity that will just LOVE a cashless society is BANKS. All transactions will flow through them. We’ll probably get 1099s(or something similar) from them for all ‘private’ person-to-person transactions at the end of the year.
Yup.... That will be another angle to it.
The cashless society will close the loop on us in a big way! Short of barter, we will be screwed.
Roger that.
If cash disappeared in the U.S. economy, I would do business using a foreign currency even right here in the U.S. Canadian cash is probably the most practical currency to use for cash transactions, since it is very stable and I could use it here in North America.
b ttt
I tip for good service at restaurants with cash. Call me superstitious, but I’ve never put tips on the credit card. If waiters/waitresses must “share” their tips, then cash gives them an option. I’m not really sure how they feel, but that’s what I do.
Like it or not, facial recognition software already has or soon will, identify every single American citizen. With a couple mouse clicks, the government will be able to see where you were and at what time. If you were driving down I-95 south at 9:32 am in the Greenwich, CT area, the government will see that. If you stroll into a Best Buy at 10:23am and purchase an electronics devices with cold, hard cash, the government will see that too. And they will probably be able to read off the serial numbers of the cash you paid with and will be able to track the origins of the cash as well.
It's either coming soon or it's already here.
Those who feel safe paying cash - they have a false sense of security.
When I was a kid my parents would give me an allowance of about $5 a week if I did my chores etc. Also I worked for my dad in his construction business before I turned 16, he paid me through the payroll, but I immediately cashed the checks since I didn’t have a bank account.
That taught me the value of money like nothing else, being able to physically see it, and see how quickly it disappears. A cashless society would be devastating to this country.
‘Pesos.’ LOL!
Yes. I know you’re most likely not kidding; just struck me as funny.
Exactly - cash is the last sliver of economic privacy we have left.
It’s all about tracking everything.
Hmmmm. Gave me something to think about. So far, Big Brother knows I love Kohl’s and knows I love to buy shoes at Zappo’s. I buy groceries and gas in the same places each week. And I shop at Goodwill and St. Vincent thrift shops on a regular basis, maybe a WalMart run for pet supplies from time to time and Home Depot or my local Hardware Store for home supplies.
I’m at Walgreen’s a LOT picking up meds and supplies for Dear Old Dad.
I look absolutely normal and harmless in cyberspace. According to their records, I have never purchased any guns, ammo or liquor nor have I ever contributed to ANY political party.
*SMIRK*
We’ll never be totally cashless, it’s too convenient for the places where it works. But it’s also a pain in the butt, so we’ll reduce its use constantly. It’ll top out at about 95% cashless, but there will always be some cash transactions.
I haven’t actually used cash in ages. The nearest I come to it is the quarter I insert into the Aldi’s shopping cart lock.
Two years ago I did use cash to pay for a couple of $3.00 prescriptions.
why on Earth would I want to pay $1,300 for it after interest, rather than $890.I use my credit cards for most purchases > $10, and it's been decades since I've paid any interest to the credit card companies. Credit cards, when used properly, are wonderful. They provide me with an average of 15 days of "float", and they typically refund 1-2% of my purchases, so I'm actually paying less by using my credit card than if I had used cash. I do agree with your concerns about the privacy issues.
The most troubling is you will never be in physical possession of your money. It will always exist somewhere else in electronic form....ready for the government to freeze or seize if you misbehave, vote the wrong way.....seek tax exempt status for your organization, etc.
Transfer payments.
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