Posted on 11/11/2009 7:32:07 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Can you imagine how many people have physically handled your money? Do you know who has previously touched it? Did they have a flu virus or some other communicable disease that is transmitted by physical contact with an infected object? Physical paper currency is often dirty - not so much to the sight, but it is a good home for dangerous microbes. It is often kept warm by our body heat and even absorbs some body moisture - a perfect breeding ground for bad stuff.
It has been well-known for decades that paper currency is a major source of disease transmission. During the life of the average dollar bill, it will be handled by hundreds, if not thousands, of people. It is hard to think of any physical object that is handled by more different people than paper currency. Millions become ill every year as a result of handling currency, and a not insignificant percentage of them die. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 36,000 Americans die each year from flu-related causes. How many people received the flu from paper currency? The precise percentage is unknown, but if it is just 10 percent, that still translates into a couple of million needlessly ill people and thousands of deaths.
The good news is that it is no longer necessary to use paper currency in the digital age. Payments of all types can be made by electronic means - with electronic banking; credit, debit and smart cards; and cell phones - all of which help the user avoid physical contact with dirty paper money. (Note: Most paper currencies are made largely from cotton cloth, which makes them very absorbent.)
The bad news is that government policies are slowing down
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
* Physical money is expensive to produce. It is subject to counterfeiting, easily stolen and costly to handle. As noted, it is a major transmitter of disease. A rational and responsible government would be doing everything possible to eliminate physical currency.
* People will only move away from paper currency when they can easily use an "electronic wallet" and have the ability to make non-identifiable and non-traceable transactions
* Encryption software has become sufficiently robust to protect users of digital money and is far safer than holding or handling physical cash.
* In many parts of the world, monetary transfers by cell phone are becoming the norm - they are particularly useful for small payments. The Philippines has become a world leader in cell-phone payment systems and use. Cell-phone use is expanding at a very high rate through the developing world - already, in Africa, a third of the people have cell-phone subscriptions, most of which can be used for electronic payments.
I would rather get sick
--yeah, sure---
No thanks, Big Brother, I’ll risk it.
So, I’ll just start keeping my wallet in the refrigerator and kill all those nasty germs.
translation: it is all about taxes.
Simple solution: Have cash registers include little UV sanitizers inside the drawer, so that the bills get disinfected before they are handed back to the next person.
Of course, I call BS on the whole thing.
“And, government needs to take away the anonymity of all commercial transactions — for the common good of course.”
BUMP!
I have nothing to hide, but when I need to hide something, cash it is. ;)
Bartering soon to be outlawed as well...
Electronic payments typically cost the retailer four percent of the transaction, when all fees are accounted for. The only ones seeking health here are the card companies.
Soon, we may see Debit cards issued for cash and no more paper available. The BIG BANKS get a cut on processing, and BIG BROTHER knows what kind of whiskey you buy at the ABC store...
Not to mention that it has likely been in some exotic dancer’s thong.
One problem is that our currency system has been outdated by inflation, and we are using paper for tiny transactions, and these small, sweaty, frequently traded bills are probably the greatest source of any probmel. That $1 you get back at the tool booth is probably filthy compared to the typical $20 that spends more time in a wallet. Coins don’t carry germs as readily.
Therefore, it’s time once again to trot out my currency and coinage reform proposal.
Given that there has been ample inflation on the order of 10 since the last change, and we have an excessive array of confusing coins and low-value currency, it is time for a practical simplification.
First, denominations need to proceed in a proportional way without large value ratios or crowded ratios. The classic 1-5-10-50-100... progression with ratios of 2.0-5.0 is ideal as a minimum, with denominations of 2, 20, etc. being optional for important valuations.
Second, we want to avoid coins of such low value that they are more trouble than they are worth. Economic waste occurs with the extra time wasted dealing with needlessly small coins. A dime is worth less than a minute of labor at minimum wages, and no currency transaction requires anything smaller than this denomination. The penny and the half-cent served well as the smallest denominations when their values were that of today’s dime. Note that electronic transactions are often conducted in smaller units than our smallest coin, and that cash registers have been “rounding” (without bias up or down) to the nearest small coin for sales tax purposes for generations.
Third, we want to set the coin/currency transition at a practical level that avoids our wallets being overstuffed with small bills, or our pockets with too many coins. Coins should be suitable for purchases like a magazine, a coffee, a lunch, or a brief cab ride.
Fourth, the ratio between the largest and smallest coin should be limited to a practical factor. Consider that the economy functions effectively with coins at 0.05, 0.10, and 0.25, with pennies treated as trash, and larger coins generally not used. That is a factor of 5 between the largest and smallest coin. A factor of 10-50 may be ideal, and a factor of 100 (as in actual current coinage) is excessive.
Fifth, we need bills of adequately high value for large cash purchases (consider the largest Euro note has a value of about 7.5 times that of the largest US note.)
Sixth, coins should be sized approximately proportional to their value for ease of recognition and use.
The proposal:
Coins:
$0.10 (slightly smaller than the current dime)
$0.50 (slightly smaller than the current nickel, larger than the penny)
$1.00 (slightly smaller than the current quarter dollar, larger than the nickel)
$5.00 (slightly smaller than the current half-dollar) Or it could be set at $2 to avoid overlap with a $5 note.
Currency Notes:
$5 (optional)
$10
$20 (optional)
$50
$100
$500
Our current 6 coins are replaced with 4.
Our current 7 notes are replaced with 4-6.
If you want to talk about making coins out of silver or gold, that’s another topic.
Was that William Jefferson's excuse too?
To make it REALLY easy, we could all just have some chip with a numeric identifier implanted in our hands or forehead....great idea!
Couldn’t we accomplish the same goal by going back to precious-metals-based currency?
Just fill the cash drawer with disinfectant and keep the coins soaking in it all the time.
Or put them in the dishwasher at night...
Me too, I use cash all the time, I don’t think anyone needs to anymore about me than they already do.
Probably want to keep it in the freezer.... ;-)
Hey, credit cards are a disease vector, too. Some places you still hand it over to the clerk. Other places where you swipe it yourself, you often have to hit the touch screens several times with either your finger or the special pen, both of which are teeming with viruses and bacteria...
Banks should cycle their currency through a radiation sterilizer. This can be done centrally, in a way that keeps the cost to individual banks lower.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.