And when the (broke) Swedish government raises taxes sky-high, they will all flock to cash, gold, bitcoin and other off-the-radar payment methods.
Swedes rebelling against a cashless society (2018)
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Re: Swedes rebelling against a cashless society (2018)
#12Being able to pay through cards and phones is super convenient, but cash should never not be an option. Card companies, payment apps and banks are constantly tracking your purchases and profiling you. This data can be leaked/stolen/sold, and is always available to governments and those in/with power. Cash is (almost completely) anonymous. You should always be able to pay with cash if you want.
> Being able to pay through cards and phones is super convenient
I was very impressed by Sydney's train between the airport and city that can take assorted contactless payments at the turnstile. None of this figuring out how many zones I need a ticket for or buying a $20 card and only using $9.50.
Re: Swedes rebelling against a cashless society (2018)
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
That article is out of date. In large parts of central Stockholm, you can't pay by cash. Legal tender is just words, if they don't take cash there's not much you can do.
So how do poor people function in a cashless society?
In Stockholm, I'd mostly be curious what the Romani do.
Re: Swedes rebelling against a cashless society (2018)
#14Its a bold headline, but as the article explains, its not actually very many Swedes who seem to be 'rebelling'. People I know are trying to get pensioners they are 'responsible for' to stop carrying and using cash, as its far higher risk. I don't personally know of anybody rebelling against the cashless society, not in any age group. Its not even talked about. On the other hand, 'do you take swish' (a phone-to-phone…
> I don't personally know of anybody rebelling against the cashless society, not in any age group. Its not even talked about.
No one is, because the cashless society isn't happening. The concept of abandoning cash is at this stage merely a thought experiment. Even in Sweden, the most significant action taken in that direction is a discussion about whether to have a discussion, from the government.
But why would any government abandon cash? Any fiat currency needs at least some cash to go around, otherwise the remaining cash exchanges that still happens, a lot of which are untracked, would be outside of the control that governments still have over them; valuation. If you take away their cash, they will simply find another bartering tool.
Re: Swedes rebelling against a cashless society (2018)
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
So how do poor people function in a cashless society?
Well, they get a bank account and a debit card connected to that account. It's usually free/very cheap in Sweden. As far as I understand it, the 'underbanked'-situation present in the U.S. for poor people is not present in Sweden.
In europe in general debit accounts for residents are either free or very cheap, now if you are not a resident that is different story.
Re: Swedes rebelling against a cashless society (2018)
#16Re: Swedes rebelling against a cashless society (2018)
#17Part of why cashless works is the same reason the Swedish welfare state generally works: a trust of government. Contrast this with Germany and its history with...lists; it's best not to have yourself be too traceable. I think the US is somewhere in-between, but at the end of the day, we'll hand over a lot for 2% cashback and avoid paying for journalism at all costs.
Re: Swedes rebelling against a cashless society (2018)
#18And when the (broke) Swedish government raises taxes sky-high, they will all flock to cash, gold, bitcoin and other off-the-radar payment methods.
Government debt as a percentage of GDP is very low in Sweden:
https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/government-debt-to...
Re: Swedes rebelling against a cashless society (2018)
#19Re: Swedes rebelling against a cashless society (2018)
#20Part of why cashless works is the same reason the Swedish welfare state generally works: a trust of government. Contrast this with Germany and its history with...lists; it's best not to have yourself be too traceable. I think the US is somewhere in-between, but at the end of the day, we'll hand over a lot for 2% cashback and avoid paying for journalism at all costs.
Of course, the German government that made lists did so without credit card records or electronic ids or anything like that...