281–290 of 369 posts
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Paper trail? What are you hiding citizen? Nothing to hide, nothing to fear.
"Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -Edward Snowden
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The introduction of the revelatory "mark of the beast". No one will be able to [legally] buy or sell without it. I suspect anyone that tries to barter or trade outside of the system will be considered and labeled a criminal for operating in black markets or tax evasion.
Oh but I have heard people claiming the contrary: that banks are actually using a number for transaction and it has 666 embedded into it.
The core concept to remember I think is that there are two ways to pay for things: * Ways that involve cash or cash equivalents * Ways where a purchase requires the permission of someone else Just think of the word authorization, which is a required element of essentially all non-cash transactions. It has the word authority embedded right in it. If you're OK with that concept, you are necessarily OK with the idea tha…
And don't forget that 'payment processing' is never free. In fact, it is never even a flat fee despite the fact that it does not actually cost anything more to transfer a larger number over a network than it does a smaller one. Yet people seem to have no problem handing over the majority of their economy to 'processed' payments which empower banks with the ability to do nothing less than levy taxes and exert the same…
In Europe, payment processing interchange fees are regulated. Debit cards are fixed at 0.3% and credit cards at 0.2%. SEPA wire payments have zero interchange.
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Last year I tired of reconciling my credit card and checkbook accounts, so shifted to using cash only (I have credit cards if there's an emergency). So far I'm spending ~10% less each month. I'm more careful about purchases. I get and seek cash discounts. Best of all I don't need to do the reconciliation.
How do you ask for a cash discount?
Merchants prefer cash as card costs them money.
Usually works with dry cleaners, cafes, etc. Big businesses generally say no.
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"Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -Edward Snowden
To be the devil's advocate here, what situation can you imagine that would warrant a person to legitimately hide information or keep secrets from their own government?
I certainly do not want my bank passwords to be with the government. My bank accounts can be wiped out. Hence I do not like my communication recorded at all for this reason.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Last year I tired of reconciling my credit card and checkbook accounts, so shifted to using cash only (I have credit cards if there's an emergency). So far I'm spending ~10% less each month. I'm more careful about purchases. I get and seek cash discounts. Best of all I don't need to do the reconciliation.
How do you ask for a cash discount?
I'm not sure if this is more prevalent in certain regions, because I never noticed it until I drove west from the east coast. First I was confused when I stopped at the cheapest gas station I saw somewhere in Nevada, only to discover it was cash/debit ONLY, and I think there was a 35-cent charge for using debit. After that, in California, I started noticing how easy it is to see the cash price when driving by, but you often have to look closely for the credit price.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -Edward Snowden
To be the devil's advocate here, what situation can you imagine that would warrant a person to legitimately hide information or keep secrets from their own government?
So yes, for this any many other reasons, it's good to keep secrets from the government.
By the way, pot is just an example, you can literally dig millions of unjust laws up if you looked, we're all just conditioned to OBEY.
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How do you ask for a cash discount?
I've been doing this by just straight up asking. "Is there a discount with cash?" "No" "Ok, I'll pay with my card" Merchants prefer cash as card costs them money. Usually works with dry cleaners, cafes, etc. Big businesses generally say no.
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And don't forget that 'payment processing' is never free. In fact, it is never even a flat fee despite the fact that it does not actually cost anything more to transfer a larger number over a network than it does a smaller one. Yet people seem to have no problem handing over the majority of their economy to 'processed' payments which empower banks with the ability to do nothing less than levy taxes and exert the same…
> If they wish to restrict the availability of money in the economy, they can simply raise the payment processing fees. If they wish to boost their own profit margin, they simply raise the payment processing fees In Europe, payment processing interchange fees are regulated. Debit cards are fixed at 0.3% and credit cards at 0.2%. SEPA wire payments have zero interchange.
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A cashless society would be an attempt to create a society that lacks basic economic freedom, but it would also fail. People will simply return to barter, and the use of whatever precious metals/stones/etc are hot that year.
Unfortunately, the US Government does not accept tax payments in turnips, emeralds, pirate treasure, moonshine, or Eth. Until that changes, you will need to interface with the USD economy. The US government also expects your tax payment on an annual basis.