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Pondering A 'Cashless' Society: Central Banks Want To Make Your Mattress Obsolete
Seeking Alpha ^ | 17 December 2016 | The Heisenberg

Posted on 12/19/2016 9:11:00 AM PST by Lorianne

•Scandinavia is about to close its last mint.

•While conspiracy theorists fret about privacy, the real story may be rates.

•What would you do if cash disappeared tomorrow?

Fridays can be tedious when it comes to ferreting out interesting stories.

I found an interesting piece on Bloomberg about Scandinavia's transition to a cashless society. By way of introduction, note that interest rates are negative in Sweden and Denmark and barely positive in Norway. I'll come back to that.

So Bloomberg chronicles the rapid disappearance of cash in the region, noting that "by the end of this month, Scandinavia's last mint will have closed." They continue:

“ Following in the footsteps of Sweden and Norway, Denmark has decided to outsource the production of its coins to Finland. The Danish central bank has already stopped printing banknotes. They've become so unfashionable that there's no rush to find a subcontractor for those.

Scandinavia is way ahead of the game. The region is frequently cited as a trailblazer in the global transition to a post-cash society. Denmark, along with neighboring Sweden, is today one of the countries with the lowest percentage of notes and coins in circulation. As recently as 1991, cash and checks were responsible for 82 percent of Danish transactions. The check went the way of the Dodo in late 1990s, while the use of cash has been dropping steadily ever since, even during the current period of negative interest rates."

(Excerpt) Read more at seekingalpha.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: cash
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1 posted on 12/19/2016 9:11:00 AM PST by Lorianne
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To: Lorianne

Central banks are an enemy of freedom


2 posted on 12/19/2016 9:13:49 AM PST by PGR88
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To: Lorianne

No, thank you. I like FedGov not being able to track everything I do, and I don’t do anything inappropriate.


3 posted on 12/19/2016 9:14:13 AM PST by Pollster1 ("Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed")
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To: Pollster1

The loss of financial privacy is troubling. If cash is done away with, then everything you do with money can be tracked.

Is it anyone’s business how much you spend on booze or cigarettes or fast food, for example? Obama Care bureaucrats could make it their business.

While so many of us use debit cards and credit cards for convenience, they leave behind a trail. Which you may not want someone else to follow.


4 posted on 12/19/2016 9:21:27 AM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Lorianne

The government believes that we owe a tax on every transaction. If you buy a bunch of old tools at a garage sale or you sell the extra produce from your garden you should be taxed on that transaction. There have been several proposals to add a underground economy participation tax across the board. The last one I’m aware of would have added $600 to everybody’s tax bill. It was defeated.

By doing away with cash every transaction you make can be tracked and taxed.

Separately but related there was an article recently on FR about a county that was buying transaction data from credit card companies and sending a bill to people who had bought pet food but hadn’t paid the county pet tax.

It’s all about control and control is about squeezing money out of new sources. The old ones have pretty much dried up.


5 posted on 12/19/2016 9:28:15 AM PST by Gen.Blather
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To: Lorianne

Hackers are jumping for joy.


6 posted on 12/19/2016 9:29:29 AM PST by bgill (From the CDC site, "We don't know how people are infected with Ebola")
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To: Gen.Blather

Here in NJ cash is probably growing in popularity; the Americans are fleeing, and what is left is mostly a welfare economy and illegals. Cash will be king as long as this continues.


7 posted on 12/19/2016 9:40:49 AM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Lorianne

Absolutely horrible, beyond the privacy is the notion of negative rates. Imagine your savings shrinking every month due to negative rates.


8 posted on 12/19/2016 10:05:28 AM PST by sox_the_cat
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To: Lorianne

Gold and silver will go up considerably. .22 ammo, Tide, baby diapers and smokes will become the new currency/barter tools.


9 posted on 12/19/2016 10:09:54 AM PST by BipolarBob
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To: Gen.Blather
Separately but related there was an article recently on FR about a county that was buying transaction data from credit card companies and sending a bill to people who had bought pet food but hadn’t paid the county pet tax.

The county should be told "I'm eating that pet food due to the obama economy."

10 posted on 12/19/2016 10:18:27 AM PST by Oatka
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To: Lorianne

Is there a digital cash (Bitcoin, etc.) pinglist that needs to be included here?


11 posted on 12/19/2016 10:23:43 AM PST by plsjr (<>< Mankind "knows" by trial and error; Only the CREATOR really knows His creation.)
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To: Pollster1
No, thank you. I like the GedGov not being able to track everything I do

It's bad enough that cash no longer has intrinsic value. But if it didn't exist, we'd be reduced to avatars with the gov controlling and tracking our every movement. Think about it. The gov would know where you are at every minute by your transactions history.

My generation won't let it happen. But those under age 50 (or so)? They're being programmed to put their whole lives and financial activity on the computer, with everything being a digital transaction. How much of a leap would it be from that to allocating how people could use their credits. Every transaction would be taxed automatically, and every transaction would have fees imposed by banks.

Logic is that it would be a Brave New World, with barter being the only way to maintain some freedom.

12 posted on 12/19/2016 11:10:09 AM PST by grania
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To: Lorianne

Cashless society-—talked about in the Bible. It will not be a happy time when it arrives.


13 posted on 12/19/2016 1:22:01 PM PST by Imnidiot (This space for Rent)
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To: Pollster1
I like FedGov not being able to track everything I do, and I don’t do anything inappropriate.

Hardie, har, har. As if the government cares what you don't want.

Christians have long known that cash will disappear otherwise they can't control who will buy or sell. Just one more sign of the seasons.

14 posted on 12/19/2016 2:18:38 PM PST by itsahoot (Three words I don't want to hear, Comprehensive Immigration Reform.)
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To: Gen.Blather
By doing away with cash every transaction you make can be tracked and taxed.

That also applies to crooks and corrupt politicians. Well that will be a selling point but I suspect the politicians will have a way around it, or they won't pass it.

15 posted on 12/19/2016 2:21:19 PM PST by itsahoot (Three words I don't want to hear, Comprehensive Immigration Reform.)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

I need cash for my barber and some vending machines

All transactions are by electronic transfer or plastic

All my clients pay by direct deposit

There is no need for cash now

Oh and in summer, we take cash to the Farmer’s Market


16 posted on 12/19/2016 2:24:13 PM PST by Thibodeaux (Exile Barack, Exile the Wookie, Exile Malia, Exile Shasha)
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To: kearnyirish2
Cash will be king as long as this continues.

Real silver or gold coins will be king but bills and the fake coins we now make will disappear rapidly. Then again gold coins disappeared rapidly under FDR, so who knows.

17 posted on 12/19/2016 2:24:54 PM PST by itsahoot (Three words I don't want to hear, Comprehensive Immigration Reform.)
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To: itsahoot

The imported Third Worlders here in NJ (growing in numbers by the day) use ONLY the current bills and coins - and their businesses often accept nothing else.


18 posted on 12/19/2016 4:12:11 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Lorianne

I pretty much only use cash at bars anymore. It’s basically dead. The moving hand has written, time to move on.


19 posted on 12/19/2016 4:18:06 PM PST by discostu (Alright you primative screwheads, listen up!)
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To: Lorianne

20 posted on 12/19/2016 4:22:52 PM PST by dfwgator
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